Description: Compiled in response to emerging transnational perspectives in American Studies, this comprehensive and imaginative anthology brings together a rich variety of works of colonial literature from across the Americas, covering the period from first contact, through to settlement and the emergence of national identities, with an emphasis on the American Revolutionary period.
Review Quotes: "This is that rare thing, a landmark anthology. Susan Castillo and Ivy Schweitxer reconstruct our view of early American writing and, in the process, make a significant contribution to the rewriting of American literary history. Shifting the critical paradigms as it does, while providing a rich diversity of material, this will undoubtedly be an indispensable resource for students of American literature and history. It will also prove invaluable for anyone wanting to know more about the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, the conflicts and legacy of the colonial period, and the founding of the American nation."
Richard Gray, Professor of Literature at the University of Essex, Editor of the Journal of American Studies, and a Fellow of the British Academy and Editorial Adviser for the Blackwell Anthologies.
"...our students should, like us, be grateful that such a valuable resource is also so affordable." Journal of American Studies 2002
"What [...] impresses me is the lightness of touch in the editorial matter that almost belies the amount of synthesis of scholarly materials involving such producing such informative and eloquent introductions. The result is a genuinely accessible compilation of some familiar, canonical texts and a fascinating range of other literary documents." Journal of American Studies 2003