L. Clare Bratten | Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 60, No. 1, Spring 2008, edited by Stephen Tropiano
“Jack C. Ellis and Betsy A. McLane have produced a survey of documentary film that updates an earlier volume by Ellis. …The book is encyclopedic in its coverage of English, Canadian, and US films; … It's an excellent introduction for anay student wishing to understand the major trends in documentary production in the UK and North American and the major films of various eras.”

Afterimage Magazine | Reviewing Orthodoxies
“…The principal strength and significance of Ellis and McLane's book lie in its ability to explain how the complex interaction of historical change, industrial infrastructure, and technological innovation has shaped the ways in which Anglo-American documentary has been produced and distributed…”

Heather McIntosh | Reality Film - History (Introduction)
“The most recent history of documentary to appear is Jack C. Ellis and Betsy A. McLane’s A New History of Documentary Film (2005). In addition to a chronology that focuses largely on U.S., Canadian, and British documentaries, the book features introductory and concluding remarks about ways in which to think about the concept of ‘documentary.’”

Ray Zone | Editors Guild Magazine, Sept–Oct 05
“This comprehensive new history of the documentary grew out of a book published in 1989 titled The Documentary Idea, an homage to John Grierson, which addressed his concept of filmmaking that consisted of “the creative treatment of actuality.” The co-authors have surveyed the entire field of non-fiction filmmaking right up to the present with the films Super Size Me and Fahrenheit 9/11.”