Lopate’s anthology is a treasure trove, a word hoard, a bonanza, perfect for dipping into and rifling through. There are comic delights from Thurber and Dorothy Parker, fine-tuned naturalism from Rachel Carson, John Burroughs, and Loren Eiseley, and, above all, sallies at that constant American topic, personal identity ... Whatever one thinks about the United States, The Glorious American Essay is a superb guide to the nation’s most adventurous and searching forays into prose.
... another enormous, endlessly fortifying mixture of famous works and neglected gems that can take pride of place on anyone’s bedside table for months before its pleasures come close to being exhausted ... Juxtaposition is one consequence of variety, and it’s delightful to find Albert Einstein nipping at the heels of James Thurber, or Norman Mailer and Rachel Carson writing from the same year (1955) but in wildly different registers.
If, in contemporary culture, we tend to regard the essay as inherently personal, Lopate reminds us that it has been, and remains, a mechanism of social and political expression, as well ... Lopate is attempting to ground an argument for a kind of intellectual or narrative continuity to our collective history, to trace overlapping lineages of thought ... I can’t really argue with the presence of any essay here. As an essayist, I admire them. As a teacher, I am already thinking about which ones to assign ... At the same time, I would have welcomed a few more iconoclastic selections because the essay is a vehicle of iconoclasm.
The editor has cast a wide net to show the evolution of the essay as an enduring literary form ...With the ongoing transition from magazines to the internet the essay has also transformed, yet well written and insightful pieces can still generate commentary among the public and bring notoriety to the author. This is a marvelous volume that introduces the reader to the wide variety of American writing and literary thought of the last two centuries of our nation’s history.
This anthology uniquely tells the story of America as well as the essay ... includes headnotes for each piece, as well as an informative introduction ... Women and minority groups are well represented, ensuring a comprehensive selection. Lopate further addresses readers’ queries as to why specific writers (Gore Vidal, Philip Roth) are not present ... Two forthcoming collections is this series focusing on the postwar era (1945–2000) and essays of the 21st century will ensure this is the most comprehensive set of American essay writing to date. For readers fascinated by the sheer scope, variety, and art of the essay.
... dynamically curated ... spectacularly varied and powerful works ... Expected writers are matched by those who will be new to reader ... With reflection, dissent, wit, poignancy, and finesse at every turn, this vibrant and illuminating pairing of social and literary histories is a vital resource. In two forthcoming volumes, Lopate will deepen coverage of the postwar era and the twenty-first century.
Many writers included here are likely to be familiar to readers but perhaps not to the students for whom this collection seems aimed, with its informative introduction, succinct headnotes, and contents organized by both theme and form ... Some essays—such as Dorothy Parker’s musings on people notable for their goodness and James Thurber’s on men’s idealizing of women—seem dusty, if not dated, although Fanny Fern’s dryly satirical 'Delightful Men,' from 1870, has lost none of its bite. Essays that consider race, ethnicity, disability, social justice, and sexual orientation make the collection timely ... A thoughtfully edited volume that reflects America’s changing social, political, and cultural life.
