James Baldwin Charles Dickens Stephen King Arthur Miller Tennessee Williams F. Scott Fitzgerald John Steinbeck Mark Twain Isabel Allende

Gr 10 Up—These titles will make important additions to schools in which an extensive selection of literature classes is offered. Each book opens with a brief biographical section, including an article offering "The Perspective," reprinted from that literary magazine. The section that follows is comprised of a few articles outlining the critical contexts of the writer's work. For instance, those researching James Baldwin will find "Exiled in Paris: The Beginnings," a lengthy excerpt from a book of the same title by James Campbell. Finally, most of the articles are grouped under "Critical Readings," and feature a variety of topics on the authors and their oeuvre. Although the essays cover a wide range of themes and subjects, a narrower focus on particular novels or plays is also available; readers looking for perspectives on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, or John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, won't be disappointed. A chronology of the artists' lives and creative output, as well as a complete bibliography of writings on their works, is appended. A solid index completes each book. Purchase of the print volumes includes complementary access to material in Salem's online database.—Carol Fazioli, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, PA