Amazon.com description: Product Description: This reference work spans the scope of American literature, from the colonial period through to the 20th century. Broken down into three chronological volumes, and then arranged alphabetically within each volume, each reference includes entries reflecting writers, works, literary movements, characters and influential historical events that high-school students or undergraduates are likely to encounter in course reading lists, classes or textbooks. Regionally and culturally inclusive, entries on writers describe key life events, include thumbnail descriptions of their works, and express their significance in the literary period. Also included are bibliographies listing key critical and biographical resources for further reading, an index for each volume, and a general list of entries for the entire set. A chronology in each volume puts the literature of the period in context.