(4) YA Understanding Literature series. These accessible author studies explore the biographical and historical factors that influenced O'Neill's plays or Faulkner's fiction. Each title includes a synopsis of the subject's life and brief critical analysis of selected works. Though dry, the books provide solid background for understanding some American literary classics. A few photographs help break up the texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Eugene O'Neill and A Student's Guide to William Faulkner.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. These accessible author studies explore the biographical and historical factors that influenced O'Neill's plays or Faulkner's fiction. Each title includes a synopsis of the subject's life and brief critical analysis of selected works. Though dry, the books provide solid background for understanding some American literary classics. A few photographs help break up the texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Eugene O'Neill and A Student's Guide to William Faulkner.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This examination of the brief lives and enduring works of Emily, Charlotte, and Anne Brontë provides some interesting information about the siblings and their extraordinary writing. Though it's a bit dry, the critical commentary on Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights is accessible and includes useful historical background. A few photos (mostly movie stills) and art reproductions break up the text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. Accessible if uninspired, this study of poet, playwright, and literary critic Eliot includes biographical information (touching on his anti-Semitism), an overview of selected works including The Waste Land and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," brief critical analysis, and a summation of his legacy. A few photographs and illustrations break up the dry text, and sidebars explain literary terms. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This series explores the biographical and historical factors that influenced these authors. Each book includes a detailed synopsis of the subject's life and his selected works. Though dry, the books will provide a solid background for readers seeking a deeper understanding of literary classics. Some sidebars and photographs help break up the text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Jack London, A Student's Guide to Mark Twain, and A Student's Guide to Tennessee Williams.

Reviewer: Allison Cole

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This series explores the biographical and historical factors that influenced these authors. Each book includes a detailed synopsis of the subject's life and his selected works. Though dry, the books will provide a solid background for readers seeking a deeper understanding of literary classics. Some sidebars and photographs help break up the text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Jack London, A Student's Guide to Mark Twain, and A Student's Guide to Tennessee Williams.

Reviewer: Allison Cole

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This series explores the biographical and historical factors that influenced these authors. Each book includes a detailed synopsis of the subject's life and his selected works. Though dry, the books will provide a solid background for readers seeking a deeper understanding of literary classics. Some sidebars and photographs help break up the text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Jack London, A Student's Guide to Mark Twain, and A Student's Guide to Tennessee Williams.

Reviewer: Allison Cole

(3) YA Understanding Literature series. This informative volume provides biographical information about Austen, overviews of her work, accessible critical analysis that contextualizes her writing, and a summation of her legacy. Reproductions of period paintings and a few black-and-white photos from recent Austen films (and those her work inspired, such as Clueless) accompany the text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This biocritical study of Poe and some of his works provides only a cursory look at his life and analysis of his writing. Still, it will help students interpret Poe while offering a sense of how his life affected his art and of his preeminent place in literature. A few period portraits are included. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. Though instructive as to biography and literary analysis, these books are overambitious in the number of sophisticated novels and stories addressed. Illustrated with photos and reproductions, topics include influences, plot and character development, themes, and literary devices. Sidebars explain literary terms and offer historical information. List of works, reading list, source notes, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne and A Student's Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Reviewer: Connie ANn Kirk

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. This biography of Steinbeck intersperses narrative about his life with brief analyses of three influential novels: Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and East of Eden. Unexciting but fact-filled, the book honestly tackles Steinbeck's failures as well as his successes. Very few black-and-white photos accompany the dense text. List of works, reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Understanding Literature series. Though instructive as to biography and literary analysis, these books are overambitious in the number of sophisticated novels and stories addressed. Illustrated with photos and reproductions, topics include influences, plot and character development, themes, and literary devices. Sidebars explain literary terms and offer historical information. List of works, reading list, source notes, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Understanding Literature titles: A Student's Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne and A Student's Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Reviewer: Connie ANn Kirk