Wow! How I wish I had this book when I was first getting started with my dissertation. However, even months before graduation, this book is still helpful. I have read many books relating to the "PhD process" and academic writing. I have not seen the content in this book in other publications.
The premise of Lovitt's research was that perhaps there would be similarities in the expectations seasoned faculty (across colleges and universities) have for doctoral dissertations. Lovitt was advised to expect little (if any) consensus about dissertation expectations among faculty even at the same university--and even less consensus among faculty across disciplines and fields. Instead, Lovitts found a great deal of consistency in (a) expectations across fields, and (b) language used to characterize the broad range of "quality" found in completed dissertations.
The book is divided in several chapters. The early chapters focus on themes which emerged throughout the research. Central to this discussion is a summary of characteristics consistent with "outstanding," "very good," "acceptable," and "unacceptable" dissertations. Later chapters focus on dissertations for specific disciplines (e.g., history, English, physics....).
I am a business doctoral candidate. Lovitts did not have a chapter relative to business dissertations. However, I found the introductory chapters to be incredibly valuable which detailed what separates "outstanding" dissertations from "very good" ("very good" dissertations from "acceptable"...and so forth). Information provided details how such dissertations often come about and what outcomes (e.g., placements) are associated with each type of dissertation. This information helped me with "sensemaking" regarding both the doctoral education and academic-job search processes. I also found valuable insights by skimming the chapters about disciplines and fields other than my own.
I wish I could purchase one of these books for each of my less-senior colleagues. This gem of a book truly makes the "implicit explicit." Doctoral candidates with either academic or non-acadaemic career interests will likely find the book helpful. However, the "structure" and clarification of expectations may be a tremendously valuable gift to those interested in academic careers who (1) are motivated to become more sophisticated critics of their own writing, and (2) want to become better scholars.