Book details

Book description

This book situates American literature from the Great Depression to the present day in its historical context

• Explores the issues that engaged American writers from 1929 to the present
• Draws on a range of documents from magazine and newspaper accounts to government reports and important non-fiction
• The book covers political ferment of the 1930s; post-World War II anti-Communism; post-War affluence; suburbanization and demographic change; juvenile delinquency, mental illness and the perception of the U. S. as a “sick” society; and post-1965 immigration
• Designed to be compatible with the major anthologies of literature from the period
• Equips students and general readers with the necessary historical context needed to understand the writings from this period and provides original and useful readings that demonstrate how context contributes to meaning
•  Includes a historical timeline, featuring key literary works, American presidents, and historical events

Philip R. Yannella is Professor of English and American Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia. He has taught courses on the full range of American literature as well as on history, culture, class, and radicalism. His previous publications include The Other Carl Sandburg (1996).