Rating: 
Summary: Great for CLEP, but not so great in editing!
Review: I used this book as a guide to CLEP out of American Literature. It had all the detail I needed for taking the exam. It's a good book to get the basics of a very large subject area; most American Lit. text are seperated into two books of 1100 pages each. So it does do a good job of giving you the basics on American Litature. ALthought it good for CLEP the editing need to be greatly improved. Lots of spelling errors and a major error in stating that Ben. Franklin was born in Phil.,PA. All and all a good book with the basics of American Literature.
Rating: 
Summary: The best I found .... and I looked hard!
Review: I walked into a job as an "emergency English teacher" after having been out of the classroom for 20 years. Sure, I remembered some stuff, but not the details. The author did a fine job of distilling the important trends, facts, and factoids of American Literature. It's a very readable and useful survey.
Rating:
Summary: The best I found .... and I looked hard!
Review: I walked into a job as an "emergency English teacher" after having been out of the classroom for 20 years. Sure, I remembered some stuff, but not the details. The author did a fine job of distilling the important trends, facts, and factoids of American Literature. It's a very readable and useful survey.
Rating:
Summary: A fun way to learn about American Literature
Review: The Idiot's Guide to American Literature has a refreshing way of delivering crucial American Literature information. This book gives information about American authors, in chronological order, as well as the era in which they lived, and key works the authors have written. The author gives amusing comments that will help a reader remember certain styles the authors use to create their works. Throughout the book glossary terms are explained, and interesting and fun information is shared about the author, the work, or the author's era. Exerts from authors' key works are also included. The book also has appendices that give additional resources, a list of each author's works, and a glossary. It is a perfect resource to include when studying for the American Literature CLEP examination. I started to use this book as a study aide, and it turned out to be a book I couldn't put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmm...it's ok...but...
Review: This book is riddled with spelling errors! Here are the ones I've encountered after reading only a few chapters:-Throughout the chapter on Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane is misspelled as "Icabod." -Nathaniel Hawthorne's name is given as "Hawthorn" on pg. 96. -"new Hampshire" is not capitalized on pg. 98. -Jack Kerouac's name is misspelled twice (pgs. 315 and 318). -The word "subterranean" is spelled "subterreanean" on pg. 318. -"Beatnik" is given as "beatnick" on pg. 319 (also used as a misnomer, since no self-respecting member of the Beat Generation would use that term). Moral: Get a proofreader!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Scaled-Down, Humorous Survey of American Lit...
Review: When I decided to become an English major, I went to the local bookstore and picked up some good reference materials: your book, a book on Shakespeare and the Western Canon by Harold Bloom, and some good ol' Shakespeare. After two days of trying, I couldn't get through either of Bloom's work because he wrote on a level that was seemingly elitist, almost as if to show the reader his pedantic side. Throwing aside his book with great force (as Dorothy Parker would say), I picked up your rather hefty book and was soon burning through it quite rapidly. In fact, I finished the book in less that four days, although I have to admit I skipped the chapter on Canadian literature. Oh well... I doubt Mr. Richler minded, considering he's passed. Your tongue-in-cheek humor, tidbits of trivia, and flowing style made the experience all-the-better and very enriching. Thank you very much
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