From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature (Routledge Classics)

The book is excellent. It’s a history of literature that’s not afraid to express the authors’ idiosyncratic views. It gives historical background without losing focus on the authors and the literature they wrote. It’s also very readable. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition is a mess. Many words throughout the book are broken into syllables. In some sections letters are missing from words or replaced with incorrect characters. Clearly there was no effort at editing. It’s a shame since it mars such an excellent book. If you can’t get the book any other way (like me) it’s still usable. But buy the hard copy if you have a choice.

I was so tired of boring text-book style reads in which I was being lectured from the pages and lacked any kind of involvement or attachment to the sibject matter. I expected the same from this book and was dreading reading it when it was assigned for an American Literature class. I was sorely disapointed but in a good way! The authors have found a way to balance information with approachableness and for once I didn't feel lectured, but rather engaged in the subject matter. It was so good I read beyond what was required for the class and finished it. If you are taking an American Lit class, I recommend it even if your professor doesn't and if you are interested in writing I would recommend it also as it is enlightening and a good read!

If I taught American History in college I would require this book! I have been teaching American Lit for high school students for the past 7 years and I believe that this is a fantastic addition to my library. It adds a fullness and historical insight into the events of the periods, and best of all, it has suggested works that I am now using in my class.Awesome Book!

Book was promised to me by Monday Aug 19, but actually arrived the previous Saturday. Book is a closeout, unread/unopened, with only a black Sharpie line across the pages on the bottom of the book that (I assume) marked the book as part of the closeout stock.

An exceptional book for a concise, in a nutshell history of American Literature. I was assigned this book for a graduate class, which was surprising considering that it inexpensive. It's a book I've returned to and plan on returning to in the future.

What I did read of it was not very good. It is full of information and is a great choice for a history major maybe, but not me. I found it very hard to read as an English major.

Good resource...I haven't finished the entire book, but it has a lot of good information in it (lit teacher)

Excellent Service. Product same as advertised

excelente

Zuerst sollte man bedenken, dass das Werk schon 20 Jahre alt, also nicht mehr auf dem neuesten Stand ist. Weiters ist das Buch sicher nicht für Anfänger geeignet. Man sollte über Grundwissen über die (amerikanische) Geschichte verfügen, sonst hat man endeutig Probleme, mit einigen erwähnten Begriffen umzugehen. Ich bin zwar auch kein Anfänger, mir fehlten aber bei einigen Strömungen (z.B. Genteel Tradition, etc.) und Begriffen die Erklärungen, die sich zwar meist im Laufe eines Kapitels ergeben; allerdings wäre es um einiges sinnvoller gewesen diese gleich zu Beginn einzufügen.Das Buch ist in 4 (oder 5) große Kapitel (+jeweilige Unterkapitel) eingeteilt. Grunsätzlich nicht schlecht, aber wenn man die Titel liest, bekommt man nicht unbedingt einen Überblick. Daten sind auch nur im Lauf der Kapitel erwähnt; es wäre aber hilfreicher den behandelten Zeitraum von vornherein anzugeben.Die Papierqualität, vor allem des Covers, das bei mir nach einmal rumtragen schon erbärmlich aussah, lässt sehr zu wüschen übrig. Das ist auch in meine Beurteilung eingeflossen.Neben all den negativen Punkten ist aber zu sagen, dass die Autoren eindeutig sehr kompetent sind und ihre Meinungen (sie geben offen zu, dass die ganze Sichtweise nur eine Meinung ist) sehr interessant vertreten. Geschichtlicher Kontext wird immer behandelt, allerdings ohne genaue Datumsangaben, die man als Vorwissen mitbringen sollte oder nachschlagen muss.Fazit: Im Vergleich zu anderen angebotenen Literaturgeschichten (sofern man sie auf Englisch lesen möchte) sicher keine schlechte Wahl, wenn auch nicht mehr ganz aktuell - nicht für Einsteiger geeignet.

A well researched book. Not at all exhaustive and its a simple map of literary movement. Every details author has well managed to give a clear picture of the subject. A nice approach by Malcolm Bradbury. Amazon's delivery of the book was timely and is genuine edition. Worth a buy for all the Litt students.

I wanted a book that would help me understand all eras of American literature from Puritanism to Postmodernism, and this is the best book I've found yet. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about American literature.

Bon livre, agréable à lire et qui fournit de nombreuses informations sur le puritanisme jusqu'au Post-modernisme en Amérique. (Assez complet.)