American Literatures Prior to 1865

Reviewed by Susan McKinnis, Instructor, Allen Community College on 9/30/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book includes major authors of the period. Although it is not as comprehensive as a Norton anthology, the selections offered are certainly adequate for an introductory survey class; the section on the Native American experience appears especially solid. What may not be adequate, however, is the fact that spelling has not been regularized and explanatory footnotes are almost non-existent. There is no glossary or index, and archaic words are not glossed within selections.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The introductions would benefit from fact-checking. Examples: Many Poe scholars now consider the circumstances leading to his death an unexplained mystery rather than a likely "lost weekend." Even more significant is the controversy over whether Olaudah Equiano actually wrote about his own childhood in the early part of his biography; in the early 2000s, information came to light indicating he was born in North America rather than West Africa, and this issue has not yet been settled.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

It would be fairly easy to revise the introductions or swap works out of or into the existing four sections.

Clarity rating: 2

The introductions are very accessible, but, in the older selections, the spelling is not regularized. In most elections, obscure or archaic language literary allusions, and historical references remain unexplained.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is consistent in the lack of explanatory notes, glossed language, and regularized spelling in the older selections.

Modularity rating: 5

Since the text is an anthology, the reading selections are easily segmented.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The selections are arranged chronologically and divided into 4 major sections. This choice works well.

Interface rating: 4

I saw no interface issues, only minor type face inconsistencies between some selections.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The introductions were clearly written and, as I spot-checked them, I saw no obvious errors. Some of the prose might benefit from streamlining or revision, but it was not incorrect.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is appropriately inclusive.

Comments

The text would be more useful and user friendly if it included an index and explanatory notes. If the target student audience is undergraduate English majors or minors, regularized spellings and glosses of archaic words are needed. If the target reader is a graduate student or Early American Lit scholar, regularized spellings wouldn't be necessary; however, word glosses and explanatory notes might still be helpful.