Greenwood Press

Library Bookwatch, Jan, 2005

Greenwood Press

88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881

Three excellent literary surveys are recommended picks for high school through college-level students: each offers a critical roundup of topics with plenty of facts and research material geared to student reports. Rafael Ocasio's Literature Of Latin America (0313320012, $49.95) joins others in the 'Literature As Windows to World Cultures' series, providing a chronological sequence to explore the earliest New World writings from colonial to modern times. Chapters then provide insights into specific notable Latin American writers, including definitions of literary terms and concepts peculiar to Latin literacy and blending biography with critical assessments of key Latin authors. An outstanding addition to any in-depth Latin literature collection. Geroge Hart and Scott Slovic edit Literature And The Environment (0313321493, $49.95), adding to the 'Exploring Social Issues Through Literature' series in presenting critical assessments by noted scholars on environmental issues. Chapters provide literary works incorporating these issues, blending brief biographical surveys of the author with the all-important consideration of themes, styles, and history relating to each piece's context. By considering the underlying environmental roots of fiction, Literature And The Environment provides important assessments of notable pieces. Donna Woodford's Understanding King Lear (0313319367, $50.00) provides a student 'casebook' to issues and history in Shakespeare's notable play. Woodford's intention is to help students understand the literary and contemporary applications of his classic work: chapters analyze and draw important connections between King Lear's times and modern concerns.