The Best American Essays Of The Century: A century of American life through its greatest essayists―Hemingway, MLK Jr., Baldwin, Didion, and Angelou―on politics and identity.
Product ID: 85433211
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This singular collection is nothing less than a political, spiritual, and intensely personal record of America’s tumultuous modern age, as experienced by our foremost critics, commentators, activists, and artists. Joyce Carol Oates has collected a group of works that are both intimate and important, essays that move from personal experience to larger significance without severing the connection between speaker and audience. From Ernest Hemingway covering bullfights in Pamplona to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” these essays fit, in the words of Joyce Carol Oates, “into a kind of mobile mosaic suggest[ing] where we’ve come from, and who we are, and where we are going.” Among those whose work is included are Mark Twain, John Muir, T. S. Eliot, Richard Wright, Vladimir Nabokov, James Baldwin, Tom Wolfe, Susan Sontag, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Joan Didion, Cynthia Ozick, Saul Bellow, Stephen Jay Gould, Edward Hoagland, and Annie Dillard. Review: It gives an overview of the century - I liked the careful selection of the essays. I read it for enjoyment and knowledge. Review: Gut. - Brauchte das Buch für die Uni und glücklicherweise war es schneller da als erwartet:) Manche Essays sind ganz interessant, andere schwer zu verstehen. Aber wer gerne englische Essays liest: nur zu;)
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| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 358 Reviews |
V**G
It gives an overview of the century
I liked the careful selection of the essays. I read it for enjoyment and knowledge.
C**.
Gut.
Brauchte das Buch für die Uni und glücklicherweise war es schneller da als erwartet:) Manche Essays sind ganz interessant, andere schwer zu verstehen. Aber wer gerne englische Essays liest: nur zu;)
O**H
Excellent selection from the best writers in America
Excellent compilation and variety of essays. The best collection I have come by so far! From Stickeen by John Muir to Corn Pone Opinions by Mark Twain, this is an excellent selection.
G**E
Good Collection
This is a really good collection of meaningful, deep essays of the century. You may argue if they really are the best, but they certainly are among the very best amongst american authors. Had to buy it for my university compositon/writing class, but it's totally worth it.
J**T
Busy Work And Worth It
Remember, when you heard about that essay by Joan Didion and were like, "Man, I should totally look that up and read that." This is basically the complete works of all those essays you've ever heard of and authors you've been meaning to research and get-to-know. Essays like Illumination Rounds by Michael Herr, are good examples of the raw roughness of the sixties (Vietnam era) exuberance, and quickly moving to others like E.B. White who challenge us to use the calming whim of our senses to recall memories, make this collection an astounding preservation of great works of non-fiction, but also a preservation of history. Many of these accounts serve as windows into the worlds they come from, and in them we are able to experience both an emotional reflective charge, as well as, an expansive historical catalogue.
2**E
Thick book, good content, careful arrangement
This book is even better than I expected. It’s thick!! I have ADHD/short attention span and was looking for meaningful reading without long commitment. Exactly what I wanted. Includes plenty of representation of women writers and a careful distribution over the entire century. Includes well-know authors, but essays you likely haven’t read before.
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