This is a fascinating collection of prefaces to various literary works. As the collector says, prefaces give fascinating insights into an author's state of mind and purpose when writing his or her work. They help the reader to better understand the value and significance of the work.
Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Charles W. Eliot is an anthology of literary gems by famous writers. It contains prefatory prose and criticism by Dryden, Wordsworth, Hugo, and others. Dr. Johnson's Preface to his great Dictionary, Walt Whitman's Preface to Leaves of Grass and other great introductory pieces by Spenser, Raleigh, Bacon, Newton, Dryden, and Fielding are included.
Each of the prefaces and prologues in this volume is a complete work of literature unto itself, offering a unique insight to the thoughts of its author.
Since its publication in 1996, George Saunders’s debut collection has grown in esteem from a cherished cult classic to a masterpiece of the form, inspiring an entire generation of writers along the way. In six stories and a novella, Saunders hatches an unforgettable cast of characters, each struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world. With a new introduction by Joshua Ferris and a new author’s note by Saunders himself, this edition is essential reading for those seeking to discover or revisit a virtuosic, disturbingly prescient voice. Praise for George Saunders and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline “It’s no exaggeration to say that short story master George Saunders helped change the trajectory of American fiction.”—The Wall Street Journal “Saunders’s satiric vision of America is dark and demented; it’s also ferocious and very funny.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “George Saunders is a writer of arresting brilliance and originality, with a sure sense of his material and apparently inexhaustible resources of voice. [CivilWarLand in Bad Decline] is scary, hilarious, and unforgettable.”—Tobias Wolff “Saunders makes the all-but-impossible look effortless.”—Jonathan Franzen “Not since Twain has America produced a satirist this funny.”—Zadie Smith “An astoundingly tuned voice—graceful, dark, authentic, and funny—telling just the kinds of stories we need to get us through these times.”—Thomas Pynchon