The Dolphin Reader

by Douglas Hunt

When this flagship thematic reader first appeared in the 1980s, instructors appreciated its rigorous approach and challenging essays. This revision harks back to the classic Dolphin Reader, with its timeless selections, lengthier readings, and streamlined apparatus. Compiled by a longtime freshman composition coordinator and current director of a writing-across-the-curriculum program, The Dolphin Reader is designed to engage students and provide instructors with flexibility and variety. The 87 carefully selected readings are arranged in thematic units that prepare students to face some of the central questions in a wide range of academic disciplines.

Genres: Literature, Nonfiction

848 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve started this repeatedly and never finished it until now.

I bought this book years ago used so it is an older edition than the one listed.

I liked at least 90% of the essays. I gave myself permission to skim through what I did enjoy but I only found my self doing that for a handful of essays. Maybe I skimmed five total. I would say 75% of the essays are actually enjoyed reading. They were all well written some of them were a little bit more complicated than they needed to be but that was probably the style of the writer.

[Kimberly]

This was the best academic literature book. I still have it now, with the binding held together with duck tape.

[Susan C Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a find… this was on a cart outside of Bonner’s Books in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho. I can see how this was probably a textbook for college English classes but I think it stands alone as a wonderful essay collection. Most of the contributions are by well-known writers throughout history and arranged by subjects such as Progress, Art and Sport, and Journeys to name just a few.
This wonderful collection reminded me of a journal, Lapham’s Quarterly, published by The American Agora Foundation, that I have missed since it shut down with the death of the president, Lewis Latham. Each issue focused on one broad subject such as money or water or home and contained writings by well-known authors on that subject.

I hope that either a new edition of The Dolphin Reader or a new launch of Lapham’s Quarterly happens soon!

I believe several editions of The Dolphin Reader have been published but this is the original edition published in 1986.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another English class textbook. It has some great selections to read (83 in all), but it is broken down into 8 thematic units to help the reader focus on what issues is being addressed.
They are: Initiation (the rite of passage from childhood to
adulthood)
Femininity and Masculinity (forming of sexual
identities)
Communities (how we are shaped by the place we
live in)
Insiders and Outsiders (social differences within
the communities and the struggle to find our
niche)
Nature and Civilization (are we a part of nature
or apart from it)
Work and Economy (challenges the assumption that
work and income are democratic)
Media (examines our perceptions of life to find
out whether the reality of the media is real)
Understanding (highlights the difference between
learning and real understanding)

[Phyllis]

textbook