Product Description

Profiles thirty of the greatest writers in American literature, including poets Langston Hughes and Emily Dickenson, novelists Herman Melville and Ernest Hemingway, and playwright Tennessee Williams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1564067 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9?Biographical sketches of 30 prominent American writers, all of whom completed their major work before 1960. The fairly standard list of authors includes poets (Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson); novelists (Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain); playwrights (Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill); essayists (Ralph Waldo Emerson); and children's authors (Louisa May Alcott, E.B. White). Written in a lively, informal style, the profiles are 8-11 pages in length and contain interesting highlights and good-quality, black-and-white photographs and reproductions. While information on just about all of these literary giants is readily available elsewhere, this user-friendly resource provides a good introduction to the individuals and their works.?Marilyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SC
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 5^-9. From the publisher's Great Lives series, this volume presents 10-page biographies of 30 significant American writers. The broad topic breaks down into three periods: Early, which includes Longfellow, Melville, and Poe; Middle, with Alcott, Dickinson, and Twain; and Modern, with Hemingway, Frost, and Hughes. Each clearly written entry consists of a straightforward account of the writer's life and career, illustrated with a few black-and-white photographs, paintings, or engravings. Young researchers will find this a useful and quite readable resource. Carolyn Phelan

Customer Reviews

American Literature (Great Lives)
Although I am a professional writer with 12 books on the stock market to my credit, I have never written a book review. But Great Lives in American Literature certainly deserves one. To begin with, I have read dozens of books such as Living Biographies of Famous Novelists by Henry Thomas and Dana Lee Thomas, The Legal 100 by Darien A. McWhirter and Investment Gurus by Peter J. Tanous.

When I came across Great Lives in American Literature at a used-book sale, I grabbed it immediately. I almost put it back when I noted on the book jacket that it was suitable for youngsters age 9 to 12. Frankly, I don't think it is a good book for children that young. I am a sophisticated reader, and I did not get the sense that it was written for unsophisticated readers. Frankly, I thought it was exactly my kind of book, with well written chapters on such great writers as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, and Theodore Dreiser. These are not writers that would ring a bell with grade school kids.

If you are a reader of short biographies (from 5 to 10 pages long), you will love this book. In fact, I was so impressed with Great Lives that I immediately went to Amazon.com to see if there were other book by Doris Faber and Harold Faber. There were several, and I immediately ordered one called Great Lives of American Government. I can't wait till I receive it. Incidentally, if you are as addicted to collections of short biographies as I am, why not send me an e-mail, and I will e-mail you a long list of them. Of course, I may also mention my own book, the 2005 edition of The 100 Best Stocks You Can Buy. [...]