A Brief History of American Literature

by Richard Gray

A Brief History of American Literature offers students and general readers a concise and up-to-date history of the full range of American writing from its origins until the present day. Represents the only up-to-date concise history of American literature Covers fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction, as well as looking at other forms of literature including folktales, spirituals, the detective story, the thriller and science fiction Considers how our understanding of American literature has changed over the past twenty years Offers students an abridged version of History of American Literature, a book widely considered the standard survey text Provides an invaluable introduction to the subject for students of American literature, American studies and all those interested in the literature and culture of the United States

Genres: Nonfiction

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first three chapters, which are useful. The last two chapters, which cover material with which I am much more familiar, will be less so — As the general treatment is somewhat superficial and schematic. Useful, but hardly brilliant.

[Anna-Maria Susanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

extremely boring, impossible to read! drier than the Sahara. bye!

[Göran H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gives a good understanding of American Literary History as the title states. I would wish that it was a bit more structured, many authors are only named in conjunction with others with no further explanation. I'd rather see them left out in that case. Sometimes it is structured after genre and sometimes after historical period, depending on the chapter, which makes it a bit confusing.

[Giulia]

the reviews for this make me find solace in our shared experience of pain

[Barawe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vzhledem k tomu, že je tato kniha vydaná jen sedm let zpátky, cítím z ní problém, který se týká celé dnešní doby. Totiž - nejsme schopni/nechceme/ zdráháme se porušit to naše krásné heslo "všichni jsme si rovni". Tím pádem je v téhle knize autor za autorem, období za obdobím, ale žádna hiearchie neexistuje. Přitom je to zde však potřeba. Když všechny autory české literatury posadíme na stejnou lavici, vyzvedneme takového Ladislava Zápotockého (a teď schválně - kdo to podle vás je a z jakého období?) na stejnou pozici, jako Čapka nebo Nerudu. Ve výsledku se (jako v téhle knize) pak věnují tři strany Čapkovi, u kterého to nestačí ani na kontext doby a tři strany Zápotockému, kde všichni budou tak maximálně hledat, jestli není předek Zápotocké. Kromě téhle nesnáze je ještě i celkové dělení textu a odstavců prostě k ničemu. Kniha je vzdálenou sestřenkou Pásma, což u historie není nikdy dobré. Co ale autorovi musím nechat, je jeho znalost věci a hezké a stručné převyprávění dějů knih.

Závěrem ale musím uvést, že pokud byste měli zájem o knihu na toto téma, sáhněte po jiné. (Na internetu přeci jen jistá správně napsaná hesla do vyhledávání dokáží pár z nich vykouzlit.)

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it would take someone with more expertise in American literature than me to judge accurately, this is a useful and thorough book. It's also well-organized and very dry. This is literature taken very seriously, an account of (a very diverse range of) writers and their works rather than of readers and reading, so it pays a great deal of attention to movements in poetry and novels on weighty themes, with popular genres making only a few brief appearances on the sidelines. Donald Hall, Alan Dugan, and A.R. Ammons get a page and a half, whereas Stephen King and Isaac Asimov don't merit a mention. Perhaps this is as it should be—although devoting half a paragraph of a thin section on science fiction to a novel by Arthur C. Clarke, a British writer, is a telling lapse. Like his subject, Gray's writing is weighty rather than energizing. And he uses "And" to start a sentence an awful lot, perhaps in an attempt to spice it up a bit. I learned a lot from this book, especially its early chapters, but it hasn't enthused me to read more American literature.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a fascinating and informative read, structurally, it’s hardly a suitable choice to prepare for an exam.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

A conclusive look on the subject, but the book's usage of inductive reasoning (the argumentation order from specifics to general) made it difficult to maintain an interest towards a dull-seeming period/style/subject at hand. It tried to offer a view on the history of American literature by giving introductions to example works and authors of each time period, but by doing so, it failed to provide a comprehensive overall look on those subjects - one learned a lot about a great number of authors, but quite little about American literature in general, I think.

Thus, two stars.

[sch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering adoption as a textbook.

After about 100 pages: nope. Dreadful prose and (worse) fuzzy thinking. I'll finish it, but only because I need an overview of names, dates, and works.

Finished now, and glad to be done with it.