American literature is as vast and as various as the country itself. Martin S. Day follows the dynamic growth of American writing from its beginnings in the small English colony of the 1600’s to the dynamic and cosmopolitan 1970’s.

Professor Day traces a lucid and always interesting path through the books of the novelists, poets, philosophers, and political thinkers of early America. He gives the most coverage to the twentieth century, a period when the genius of American writing bursts from the local scene into work of brilliant international power.

This Handbook provides essential background reading as well as a comprehensive survey of American literature. A glance at the table of contents and index will reveal the scope of Professor Day’s fascinating subject. The extensive bibliography will give useful leads to further study.