Product Description

A library of Western literature in two volumes, this new edition offers more than 40 works in their entirety—from Homer's Odyssey to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart—as well as dozens of excerpted works and over 200 lyric poems.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130202 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 2660 pages

About the Author
Heather James, Ph.D. Berkeley, is Associate Professor of English at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Shakespeare’s Troy: Drama, Politics, and the Translation of Empire.


Sarah Lawall, Ph.D. Yale, is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her publications include Critics of Consciousness: The Existential Structures of Literature and Reading World Literature: Theory, History, Practice.


Lee Patterson, Ph.D. Yale, is F. W. Hilles Professor of English at Yale University. He is the author of Chaucer and the Subject of History; Literary Practice and Social Change in Britain, 1380–1530; and Negotiating the Past: The Historical Understanding of Medieval Literature.


Patricia Meyer Spacks, Ph.D. Berkeley, is Edgar F. Shannon Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Her publications include An Argument of Images: The Poetry of Alexander Pope; The Female Imagination; The Adolescent Idea: Myths of Youth and the Adult Imagination; Desire and Truth: Functions of Plot in Eighteenth-Century English Novels; and Boredom: The Literary History of a State of Mind.

William G. Thalmann, Ph.D. Yale, is Professor of Classics at the University of Southern California. His publications include The Swineherd and the Bow: Representations of Class in the Odyssey.

Customer Reviews

An absolutely delicious anthology...
I purchased this book for a class, but was delighted to discover that I will definitely want to hang onto it afterwards. The translations chosen for the 'Ancient World' portion are, for the most part, delightfully vivid and capture the spirit of the original language. I also like the layout - the margin size is just perfect for taking notes.

College level
I bought this to use with Tapestry of Grace curriculum, and used it with a 14 yr old fresh out of public school. It was way beyond her vocabulary level and reading skill set. This is a book I have seen used in college classes, and it figures, because much of the poems and plays are written in old or medieval English. We ended up scrapping this book most of the time and reading the same works in modern English online.
Having said that, for a child who is used to a classical education, this collection of works would be a pleasure to read.

Wonderful Textbook or Addition to Personal Library
I purchased this book for my Literature class. Unfortunately we did not get to read all of the works. I have fallen in love with this book and I hope to keep it for many many years. Some of the works can be boring but if you keep an open mind and concentrate on the ideas, language, and meaning you will understand even the most boring of works.