history and criticism

Presents a study guide to the life and works Robert Frost, providing biographical information, advice on how to read his poems, and a critical examination of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "The Road Not Taken," "Fire and Ice," and more.

A guide to reading Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, " which follows the escapades of a young boy living along the Mississippi River before the Civil War, discussing narrative technique, plot, characters and characterization, setting, themes, and symbols.

More than 350 photographs and illustrations capture and illuminate the global primacy of percussion.

Describes the history of an American anthem: "Taps"; dispels its myths; and presents comments from Americans of all walks of life on how the song has affected them.

Contains biographical profiles of fifty of the world's greatest artists, arranged chronologically from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, and includes reproductions of key works, each with annotations that highlight their particular features.

Discusses over forty stories of improbable events told as true and embelished with local details which the author calls urban legends.

Presents the context for the writing of the famous poem by the Canadian medical officer who attended injured soldiers in Flanders during the First World War.

Gives a history of blues music from its origins in the 1930s to the 1990s, with discussions of its African roots and its influence on other music.

Profiles of thirty American writers from Hawthorne and Irving to Faulkner and Hemingway.

A biography of Christopher Columbus with emphasis on how historians have worked and are still working to find out the truth about his life and discoveries.