How to Cite a Book in Chicago Style

BibMe’s Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide features everything you need to know about how to cite sources in Chicago style.

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How to cite a book in Chicago style

To cite a book in Chicago style, you will need the following pieces of information:
-The author’s name
-The book’s title
-The publisher
-The year the book was published

With this information, you will cite a book in Chicago style as follows:
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

For example, the Chicago citation for J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye would be as follows:
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print.

How to format a Chicago style citation for a book

There are two types of citations in Chicago style: notes and bibliographies. Notes are numbered and appear at the bottom of the page; bibliographic citations appear in a list at the end of your paper. If you’re citing a book, you’ll need to gather the following information:

-Author’s first and last name
-Book title
-Publication city
-Publisher name
-Publication year
Once you have gathered this information, you’ll format your citation as follows:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

How to create a bibliography for a book in Chicago style

In Chicago style, a book is a work that is primarily composed of text and is usually formatted into pages. More specifically, a book citation in Chicago style generally contains the following components:
-Author or authors
-Title of the book (italicized)
-City of publication
-Publisher
-Date of publication

The format for citing a book in Chicago style can vary depending on whether you’re using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date system. In general, however, a book citation in Chicago style will look something like this:
AuthorLastName, AuthorFirstName. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

What information to include in a Chicago style citation for a book

To cite a book in Chicago style, you will need the following information:
-The author’s name
-The title of the book
-The publication date
-The name of the publisher

Here is an example of how you would cite a book in Chicago style:
Author’s last name, first name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, year of publication.

How to cite a book in Chicago style if it is an edited volume

To cite a book in Chicago style if it is an edited volume, you need to include the following information:

-The names of the editor or editors
-The title of the book
-The city of publication
-The name of the publisher
-The year of publication

For example:

Editors’ names. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

How to cite a book in Chicago style if it is a translated work

To cite a translated work, include the following information in your citation:

-The author’s name
-The title of the work
-The name of the translator
-The edition of the book (if it is not the first edition)
-The year the book was published
-The publisher’s name
-The page number(s) you are referencing (if applicable)

How to cite an e-book in Chicago style

Citing an e-book from an online retailer (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.)

If you purchased or rented the e-book from an online retailer, include the following information:
-The author(s) or editor(s) of the book
-The title of the book
-The date of publication
-The name of the retailer
-The URL of the retailer’s website

Example:
1. Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publication Date. Name of Retailer, URL.
2. Smith, John. The Chicago Manual of Style. 2017. Barnes & Noble, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.

How to cite a book in Chicago style if it is a secondary source

If you are using a book as a secondary source, you will need to cite it in Chicago style. To do this, you will need the following information:
-The author of the book
-The title of the book
-The date the book was published
-The publisher of the book
-The page number(s) of the book that you are citing

You will also need to indicate that the book is a secondary source. To do this, you will use the format “cited in.” For example:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Date of Publication. Publisher, Page Number(s). Cited in Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume (Date): Pages.

How to cite a book in Chicago style if you are using the author-date system

To cite a book in Chicago style, you will need the following pieces of information:
-The author’s last name
-The author’s first name (and middle initial, if available)
-The title of the book
-The city of publication
-The name of the publisher
-The year of publication

Here is an example of how to cite a book in Chicago style:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

How to cite a book in Chicago style if you are using the notes and bibliography system

To cite a book in Chicago style, you will need the following information:

-The author’s last name and first name
-The book’s title
-The book’s publication date
-The publisher
-The page number (if you are quoting from the book)

Here is an example of how to cite a book in Chicago style:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Year of Publication. City of Publication: Publisher, page number.