AMA Writing Guide: Books and Ebooks

When citing books, include as much information about the article as possible. Per section section 3.12.1 of the AMA Manual, a complete AMA reference to a book must include the following: 

• Books authors' and/ or editors' (and translator, if any) surnames and initials (the names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 authors are used, followed by "et al")

• Title of book and subtitle, if any 

• Volume number and volume title, when there is more than 1 volume

• Edition number (do not indicate first edition) 

• Name of publisher 

• Year of copyright

• Page numbers, when specific pages are cited 

• URL for books available on the internet, not from the Jerry Falwell Library's catalog or databases

Citing Physical Books 

Books with One Author

Template: Author. Book Title Written in Title Case. Publisher's name; copyright date. 

Example: Quammen D. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. W.W.Norton & Co.; 2012. 

Books with Multiple Authors 

Template: Author(s). Book Title Written in Title Case. Publisher's name; copyright date. 

Example: Karlan DS, Appel J. More Than Good Intentions: How a New Economic is Helping to Solve Global Poverty. Dutton; 2011. 

Edited Book with No Named Authors 

Template: Editor(s). Book Title Written in Title Case. Publisher's name; copyright date. 

Example: Bonnie RJ, Stratton K, Kwan LY, eds. Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products. The National Academic Press; 2015. 

Referencing One Chapter in an Edited Book

Template: Chapter Author(s). Chapter title written in sentence case. In: Editor(s). Book Title Written in Title Case and Italicized. Publisher's name; copyright date: pp-pp. 

Example: Kruse A. Old age, potentials, and vulnerability. In: Adloff F, Brauer K, Pfaller L, Schicktanz S, Schweda M, eds. Planning Later Life: Bioethics and Public Health in Aging Societies. Routledge; 2016: 75-88. 

Citing Ebooks

Ebooks with One Author

Template: Author. Book Title Written in Title Case and Italicized. Edition number (if it is the second or later). Publisher's name; copyright year. Accessed [date]. URL (or use DOI, if provided) 

Example: Abel EK. Living in Death’s Shadow : Family Experiences of Terminal Care and Irreplaceable Loss. Johns Hopkins University Press; 2017. Accessed August 11, 2021.

Ebooks with Multiple Authors 

Template: Authors. Book Title Italicized and Written in Title Case and Italicized. Edition number (if it is the second or later). Publisher's name; copyright year. Accessed [date]. URL (or use DOI, if provided) 

Example: Buchbinder M, Rivkin-Fish M, Walker RL. Understanding Health Inequalities and Justice : New Conversations Across the Disciplines. The University of North Carolina Press; 2016. Accessed August 11, 2021. 

Edited Volumes 

Template: Editors, eds. Book Title Italicized and Written in Title Case and Italicized. Edition number (if it is the second or later). Publisher's name; copyright year. Accessed [date]. URL (or use DOI, if provided) 

Example: Kawachi I, Lang I, Ricciardi W, eds. Oxford Handbook of Public Health Practice. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, Incorporated; 2020. Accessed August 11, 2021. 

References to One Chapter in a Ebook

Template: Chapter author(s). Chapter Title Written in Title Case. In: Editor(s) names, eds. Book Title Written in Title Case and Italicized. Edition (if second or later). Publisher's name; year of publication: pp-pp. Accessed [date]: pp-pp. URL (or DOI, if provided). 

Example: Taché S, Macfarlane S, Mahoney M, Grumbach K. A Global Perspective on the Care of Medically Vulnerable and Underserved Populations. In: King TE, Wheeler MB, eds. Medical Management of Vulnerable and Underserved Patients: Principles, Practice, and Populations. 2nd ed. McGraw Hill; 2016. Accessed August 11, 2021:58-75.

Ebooks published on a website 

Template: Author(s) (or, if no author is available, the name of the organization responsible for the site). Book Title Written in Title Case and Italicized (or, if no title is available, the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of website. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date]. URL 

Example: Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Because Tomorrow Needs Her: The Fight for Women's Health. Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Published 2015. Accessed August 11, 2021. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/who-we-are/books-about-msf/because-tomorrow-needs-her