American Literature (Great Lives) - Hardcover

Grade 6-9?Biographical sketches of 30 prominent American writers, all of whom completed their major work before 1960. The fairly standard list of authors includes poets (Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson); novelists (Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain); playwrights (Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill); essayists (Ralph Waldo Emerson); and children's authors (Louisa May Alcott, E.B. White). Written in a lively, informal style, the profiles are 8-11 pages in length and contain interesting highlights and good-quality, black-and-white photographs and reproductions. While information on just about all of these literary giants is readily available elsewhere, this user-friendly resource provides a good introduction to the individuals and their works.?Marilyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SC
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5^-9. From the publisher's Great Lives series, this volume presents 10-page biographies of 30 significant American writers. The broad topic breaks down into three periods: Early, which includes Longfellow, Melville, and Poe; Middle, with Alcott, Dickinson, and Twain; and Modern, with Hemingway, Frost, and Hughes. Each clearly written entry consists of a straightforward account of the writer's life and career, illustrated with a few black-and-white photographs, paintings, or engravings. Young researchers will find this a useful and quite readable resource. Carolyn Phelan