This unique volume provides a bibliography and analysis of American women's literary interpretations of war and peace during the twentieth century. Chapters cover World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, nuclear war, and fictional interpretations of war and peace that span more than one war or are nonspecific to a certain war. Annotated entries on novels and short fiction provide an analysis of the work's representation of the effect of war on women. Annotations include excerpts from the works themselves and from reviews. The bibliography includes works by such well-known writers as Edith Wharton, Joyce Carol Oates, Cynthia Oick, and Bobbie Ann Mason, as well as many lesser known writers. The work begins with an introductory discussion of women's fiction on war. Each chapter begins with an introductory overview of the war literature in that chapter. In addition to the annotated entries, each chapter concludes with a list of sources of literary criticism and bibliographic resources. The work concludes with author, title, and subject indexes.

In 1976, Adrienne Rich wrote that the mother-daughter bond is the great unwritten story, awaiting analysis and definition. Since then, many voices have come to fill the gap, including those of American fiction writers. This bibliography provides information on short stories that explore the mother-daughter relationship. The general introduction and the annotations analyze approximately 250 stories written by American women in the 20th century. Most of the stories were written during the past two decades and reflect a reevaluation of the mother-daughter bond and its impact on women's lives. The bibliography is arranged thematically with chapters on abuse and neglect, aging, alienation, death, expectations, nurturance, and portraits. Each chapter begins with an introductory overview and collective analysis of the stories in the chapter. The volume includes author, title, and subject indexes.