Encyclopedia of American War Literature - by Mark a Graves & Philip K Jason (Hardcover)

About the Book

During the short history of the United States, war has marked the stages of the nation's journey, and imaginative literature has reflected and shaped an understanding of that journey. To study the war literature of the United States, then, is to study not only the representation of individuals at war but also creative renderings of the American experience. Until now, the treatment of American war literature has been handicapped by the absence of a single-source reference that can be the foundation for significant inquiry. This book addresses that need by presenting succinct, authoritative entries on the major writers and texts that have imaginatively represented the American experience of war.

This reference establishes the range and character of a significant body of work never before treated so comprehensively. It includes critical commentary on the novels, poems, nonfiction prose, and plays that reflect major conflicts from before the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War and its aftermath. It also includes topical entries that survey the literature of America's major wars as well as such subjects as Indian captivity narratives, women's diaries of the Civil War, the literature of the Spanish-American War, and African American war literature. Entries are written by expert contributors and conclude with brief bibliographies, while the volume closes with a list of works for further reading.

Book Synopsis

During the short history of the United States, war has marked the stages of the nation's journey, and imaginative literature has reflected and shaped an understanding of that journey. To study the war literature of the United States, then, is to study not only the representation of individuals at war but also creative renderings of the American experience. Until now, the treatment of American war literature has been handicapped by the absence of a single-source reference that can be the foundation for significant inquiry. This book addresses that need by presenting succinct, authoritative entries on the major writers and texts that have imaginatively represented the American experience of war.

This reference establishes the range and character of a significant body of work never before treated so comprehensively. It includes critical commentary on the novels, poems, nonfiction prose, and plays that reflect major conflicts from before the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War and its aftermath. It also includes topical entries that survey the literature of America's major wars as well as such subjects as Indian captivity narratives, women's diaries of the Civil War, the literature of the Spanish-American War, and African American war literature. Entries are written by expert contributors and conclude with brief bibliographies, while the volume closes with a list of works for further reading.

Review Quotes

"Philip Jason and Mark Graves must be congratulated on assembling a reference book of considerable breadth that certainly fills a void in the scholarship on war literature. This work offers a collection of extremely well-written and insightful essays on American authors who have dealt with the wars our nation and out colonial forebears fought since the first arrival of European colonists in North America....While certainly intended primarily as a reference work, a cover-to-cover reading of the Encyclopedia will be eye-opening for many historians for its revelation of just how diverse the corpus of American war literature truly is.... [a]ddition to their personal bookshelf, none would want it to be missing from the most."-Army History

?Each entry provides excellent background for....research and cites others resources. Highly recommended.?-Choice

?Jason and Graves must be congratulated on assembling a reference of considerable breadth and one that certainly fills a void in the scholarship on war literature. This work offers a collection of extremely well written and insightful essays on American authors who have dealt with the wars our nation has fought since the first arrival of European colonists in North America....While few students will find this encyclopedia an essential addition to their personal bookshelf, none would want it missing from the reference section of the library use most.?-Military Collector & Historian

?Philip Jason and Mark Graves must be congratulated on assembling a reference book of considerable breadth that certainly fills a void in the scholarship on war literature. This work offers a collection of extremely well-written and insightful essays on American authors who have dealt with the wars our nation and out colonial forebears fought since the first arrival of European colonists in North America....While certainly intended primarily as a reference work, a cover-to-cover reading of the Encyclopedia will be eye-opening for many historians for its revelation of just how diverse the corpus of American war literature truly is.... [a]ddition to their personal bookshelf, none would want it to be missing from the most.?-Army History

"Each entry provides excellent background for....research and cites others resources. Highly recommended."-Choice

"Jason and Graves must be congratulated on assembling a reference of considerable breadth and one that certainly fills a void in the scholarship on war literature. This work offers a collection of extremely well written and insightful essays on American authors who have dealt with the wars our nation has fought since the first arrival of European colonists in North America....While few students will find this encyclopedia an essential addition to their personal bookshelf, none would want it missing from the reference section of the library use most."-Military Collector & Historian

About the Author

PHILIP K. JASON is Professor of English at the United States Naval Academy. His 15 previous books include Retrieving Bones: Stories and Poems of the Korean War (coedited with W.D. Ehrhart) and Acts and Shadows: The Vietnam War in American Literary Culture. He has edited several volumes of poetry and literary criticism, including The Critical Response to Anais Nin (Greenwood, 1996). A widely published poet, he is coauthor (with Allan B. Lefcowitz) of the Creative Writer's Handbook.

MARK A. GRAVES is an instructor in the Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Philosophy at Morehead State University. A former instructor in the Department of English at Bowling Green State University and a former visiting assistant professor in the Department of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University, he has taught a variety of courses in modern literature, multiethnic American literature, Midwestern literature, war literature, and rhetoric and writing. His essays have appeared in such journals as English Language Notes, Ellen Glasgow Newsletter, CLAJ, and Theatre Annual, and his books include George Kelly: A Research and Production Sourcebook (Greenwood, 1999).