I am currently composing a nonfiction book that examines the influence of the Military-Industrial Complex. In this work, I intend to include quotations from 1-2 page sections of other authors' texts, which will be properly cited in the footnotes. Is there a specific threshold regarding the percentage of content from other authors' works that I should be cautious not to exceed?
Sounds like argumentative non-fiction on a very well covered subject, which suggests that your particular argument would be something not covered in the already extensive historiography. In that case I imagine you would have oodles of sources. Maybe not a hundred, but multiple dozens. So, no, definitely no cap. Check out all the other books that have covered the topic and see what they've done. You'll need to read those anyway if you haven't already. Rule #1 of history/argumentive non-fiction is read everything that has been written already.
Do you mean your quotes are the actual 1-2 pages from someone else's work? If that's the case, I'd suggest utilizing paraphrasing so you're not just quoting directly. Or pick specific quotes that you want to highlight/refute. Otherwise, it could get a little muddy between their content and yours. I also think there might be some kind of "don't do that" in the copyright notice in the front of most books, where they say something about using quotes for educational purposes, but there might need to be permissions granted if you use more than the equivalent of a paragraph or two from one source. I'm not in any way an expert on the matter, just tossing my thoughts in.
Dogberry is correct. I've created similar essays in the past on the lives of Rasputin and Ludwig II of Bavaria, and the general rule is simple: one or two paragraphs is fine. One or two pages is not. Why? Because quoting so much soaks up the space that should be devoted to your own thoughts and work, that's all. I would advise you to re-read those two pages carefully and, perhaps, pick and choose only the bits that you can't live without. Or, maybe, summarize them in your own words? Just some ideas. Good luck!
As the moderators have stated several times, this is not the correct place for what could be construed as legal advice. This is the type of question, that should be taken to a lawyer specializing in this area of law. I would think a one to two hour consult would give you the guidance you are looking for.
