Recommended Reading, 500 Classics Reviewed

Booknews

Provides information about works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama that often appear on high school and college reading lists. Each review gives ready reference data (title, author, date of first publication, and a brief abstract) and about 300 words offering an impression of the work and an idea of its importance in the history of literature and ideas. As the title implies, the reviews lean toward the traditional Western canon, but in addition to standards by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Poe, Hemingway, and others, they include relatively recent works by authors such as John Barth, Maya Angelou, and Isabel Allende. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)