The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature

Edited by James D. Hart

Oxford Paperback Reference

For nearly half a century, James D. Hart's Oxford Companion to American Literature has offered a matchless guided tour through American literary culture, both past and present. Hart now presents the first abridgement of the Companion in a paperback edition, making the entries of the greatest general interest from the original volume available to a much wider audience. Compact and affordable, it contains over 2,000 entries, including brief biographies of important authors (325 of which are devoted to contemporary writers), plot summaries of individual works, descriptions of important literary movements, and a wealth of information on other aspects of American literary life and history from the Colonial period to the modern era.

The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature

Edited by James D. Hart

Oxford Paperback Reference

Description

For nearly half a century, James D. Hart's Oxford Companion to American Literature has offered a matchless guided tour through American literary culture, both past and present. Hart now presents the first abridgement of the Companion in a paperback edition, making the entries of the greatest general interest from the original volume available to a much wider audience.
Compact and affordable, The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature contains over 2,000 entries, including brief biographies of important authors, plot summaries of individual works, descriptions of important literary movements, and a wealth of information on other aspects of American literary life and history from the Colonial period to the modern era. It devotes approximately 325 of the biographical entries to contemporary writers, introducing such newcomers to the Companion as William Kennedy, Grace Paley, and Raymond Carver. The more specialized and esoteric entries from the original have been omitted.
Like its predecessor, The Concise Oxford Companion contains a thorough system of cross references to guide the reader to related information on a given topic, as well as a chronological Index outlining significant events in the literary and social history of the United States.

The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature

Edited by James D. Hart

Oxford Paperback Reference

Author Information

James D. Hart, Professor of American Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, is Director of the Bancroft Library and author of The Popular Book and A Companion to California.

The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature

Edited by James D. Hart

Oxford Paperback Reference

Reviews and Awards

"A skilled abridgement...[of] a standard work in its field....A valuable addition to the reference shelf for anyone interested in American literature."--John Barkham Reviews

"Invaluable to those who need such a reference book, and [Hart's] enterprise, as before, has to be applauded."--Sunday Times (London)

"Wonderfully useful for quick references and just as enjoyable for browsing."--The Christian Science Monitor

Praise for the fifth edition of The Oxford Companion to American Literature:

"The histories and latest theories of American writing will come and go, but the authors and their works will remain, preserved for future evaluation by Hart's monumental work. It is without question our most important book on our own literature."--Virginia Quarterly Review

"A reference work I have never been able to live without."--Alfred Kazin, The New York Times Book Review

"Monumental....Without question our most important book on our own literature."--Virginia Quarterly Review

"Gracefully readable. For the serious reader, it is a delight, and for the scholar, it is indispensable."--Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

"If ever a compiler of a reference tool deserved a lifetime achievement award, it is James D. Hart."--Booklist

"An indispensable reference work....The fifth edition has moved on."--American Studies International