Essays on American literary journalists whose writings appeared from 1945 to 1995. During this period, literary journalists and novelists-turned-journalists produced nonfiction writing of enduring aesthetic, cultural and political significance, reshaping the contours of contemporary American letters. These journalists achieved a notoriety and status in literature, winning major journalism and literary prizes.

Provides discussions of the lives and ideas of the critics who played important roles in the development of the changing field of literary criticism. Covers contemporary figures that built upon, revised or rejected the tradition established by their predecessors. These writers often addressed vital cultural issues beyond the confines of the literature itself.

Contains essays of authors whose novels and short stories deal with or come out of their American-Jewish experience. Expression of that experience may manifest in the writings either overtly or covertly, positively or negatively, confronting alienation, identity, acculturation or assimilation.

Essays on pioneer American writers whose books set standards of children's poetry, picture books and nonfiction; American writers who take seriously the task of communicating with children, employing diverse approaches in their original writings.