Reviews

Gr 9 Up-Many updates and 25 additional authors make this revision of the 2000 edition worth a second look. For example, the revised essay on Joan Didion includes information on her National Book Award for The Year of Magical Thinking (Knopf, 2005) and there is new analysis for Philip Roth's The Plot against America (Houghton, 2004). New essays include those on John Grisham, Toni Cade Bambera, Barbara Kingsolver, and Ernest Gaines. The majority of the 145 authors included are those most studied in high school. From James Agee to Richard Wright, they include a mix of genders, genres, and cultures. In general, young adult and children's authors are not represented, and even the entries for Louisa May Alcott, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Louise Erdrich lean toward their more adult works. The alphabetically arranged articles, averaging five to eight pages in length, include a list of the authors' significant fiction, their principal literary forms, a short biographical section, and a general analysis of their work followed by critical reviews of individual novels. The entries, which are followed by a comprehensive index, will be most valuable to students looking for plot and character development, point of view, and themes. A small black-and-white photo is included for each author. This volume is similar in size and scope to Abby H. P. Werlock's The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel (2006), but without as many contemporary author choices.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Originally published in 2000, this revised edition covers 19th- and 20th-century North American authors from James Fenimore Cooper to Barbara Kingsolver and Margaret Atwood. According to the publisher, the authors were chosen because their works "are most often studied in North American high school and undergraduate literature courses." The 145 entries, which cover all genres and styles, have been updated through early 2007. Each signed essay ranges from eight to 15 pages in length and includes a brief biography, a black-and-white photograph, an unannotated bibliography of other works by the author, discussion of the author's long fiction achievements, a brief analysis of specific novels, and an annotated bibliography for further research. Unfortunately, the contributors' list identifies contributors only by institution or the phrase independent scholar. Cross-references appear in the index, but not all pen names are included in either the index or the entry. For example, Stephen King has written under six names--Stephen King, Richard Bachman, Steve King, John Swithen, Eleanor Druse, and Stephen Edwin King--yet the only names included in the essay and index are Stephen King, Richard Bachman, and Eleanor Druse. The time line consists of author name and birth date, while the glossary covers only a few terms. BOTTOM LINE Part of Salem's "Magill's Choice" series, this title is more narrowly focused, covers fewer authors, and has less depth than other, more extensive resources, such as Salem's own Masterplots and Masterplots II, Thomson Gale's Contemporary Authors and Contemporary Literary Criticism. Likely to be most effective with high school and junior college students; recommended for purchase where needed.--Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.