From the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Read Literature Like a Professor comes a highly entertaining and informative book on the twenty-five works of literature that have most shaped the American character.

Thomas C. Foster applies his much-loved combination of wit, know-how, and analysis to explain how each work has shaped our very existence as readers, students, teachers, and Americans. He illuminates

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"On February 6, 1977, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, and several other Black women writers met at June Jordan's Brooklyn apartment. Naming itself "The Sisterhood," the group would meet over the next two years to discuss the future of Black literary feminism, how to promote and publicize their work, and the everyday pressures and challenges of being a Black woman writer. This network of individuals, which would also come to include Audre...

Foreword / by Henry Nash Smith. -- Letters from the Earth. -- Papers of the Adam family: Extract from Methuselah's diary ; A later extract from Methuselah's diary ; Extract from Eve's autobiography ; Passage from Eve's autobiography ; The world in the year 920 after creation ; Two fragments from a suppressed book called "Glances at history" or "Outlines of history" ; Extract from Shem's diary of 920 A.C. -- Letter to the Earth. -- A cat-tale. -- Cooper's...

As The New Yorker has written, "Gregerson"s rich aesthetic allows her best poems to resonate metaphysically." After working in tercets for some twenty years, Linda Gregerson makes bold formal experiments in Magnetic North. She investigates the elegant shape of a question, taking inspiration from subjects as diverse as the Nazi occupation of Poland and the Nobel Prize in physiology. In one poem, "Bicameral," she makes breathtaking leaps. "Choose any...

"Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is a powerful and inviting collection of Tiffany Midge's musings on life, politics, and identity as a Native woman in modern America"--

"Sparky Sweets, Ph.D. and Wisecrack present Thug Notes, the outrageously funny, ultra-sharp guide to sixteen of literature's most beloved classics - including The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride & Prejudice and Things Fall Apart. Having already taught millions around the world, Dr. Sweets makes it easy to love and understand these important literary works. With hilarious character breakdowns, masterful analyses, witty observations,...

A scholarly primer by the intellectual and author Henry Louis Gates, Jr. collects three decades of his writings in a range of fields, in a volume that also offers insight into his achievements as a historian, theorist, and cultural critic.

Profiles notable Hispanic Americans and their work in the field of literature, including Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Junot Díaz.

"Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, [Rick Bragg] explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast. Everything is explored, from regional obsessions from college football and fishing, to mayonnaise and spoon bread, to the simple beauty of a fish on the hook. Collected from over a decade of...

Yes, you can pass the AP English Literature and Composition exam with ease! Just brush the dust off your thinking cap and get a little help from AP English Literature and Composition For Dummies. It gets you up to speed on all the topics and themes of the AP exam in a focused, step-by-step manner.

Beginning with an exam overview and ways to get the most out of an AP English class, this book has it all: long- and short-range

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