Peter S. Prescott was one of the most informed and incisive
American literary critics to write for the general public. Never
content merely to summarize or to pronounce quick judgments,
Prescott's reviews are witty and delightful essays to be enjoyed
for their own sake as examples of civilized discourse. Whether he
is exploring a well-known novelist's outlook and methods, or the
peculiar deficiencies of a work of nonfiction, Prescott's grace,
elegance, and insights make each piece proof that real criticism
need not be pedantic, obscure, or interminably long.
The focus in this second volume of Prescott's writings published
by Transaction is on both fiction by American authors and on
nonfiction reflecting our American unease. He casts an ironic eye
on how we in this country think we live now; on what we are saying
about ourselves in our fiction, our history, and our biography.
Prescott considers some of our century's classic writers: Hemingway
and Henry Miller; John Cheever and Thornton Wilder. He offers new
insights regarding those who are still at work: Mailer, John
Irving, Oates, Updike, Ozick, and Alice Walker. Some authors do not
fare well. With his customary flair; Prescott explains why the
reputations of Kurt Vonnegut and Barbara Tuchman, the "Encyclopedia
Britannica, " and John Gardner, urgently need deflation. He
includes essays on writers and books not generally noticed in
collections of criticism: Stephen King, "The Joy of Sex, " fairy
tales, science fiction, thrillers, books on survival and etiquette.
Here is a critic with a personal voice and a sense of style. For
essays published in this collection, Prescott received the most
highly regarded prize in journalism: the rarely presented George
Polk Award for Criticism.
This is a chronicle of our contemporary American culture as
revealed by its books, written with verve, intelligence, wisdom,
and wit by a critic who's cruel only when appropriate. Encounters
with American Culture is, quite simply, literary journalism at its
urbane best.
"Peter S. Prescott" was book review editor for "Newsweek." His
books include "A Darkening Green: Notes from the Silent Generation,
" and "The Child Savers: Juvenile Justice Observed." "Anne L.
Prescott" is Helen Goodhart Altschul Professor of English at
Barnard College.
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