A Companion to American Cultural History offers a historiographic overview of the scholarship, with special attention to the major studies and debates that have shaped the field, and an assessment of where it is currently headed.

- 30 essays explore the history of American culture at all analytic levels

- Written by scholarly experts well-versed in the questions and controversies that have activated interest in this burgeoning field

This volume complements A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures in English (Edinburgh, 2005) and is the first reference to integrate an authoritative body of work on the political, cultural, and economic contexts of postcolonial literatures originating in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines. Comprehensive in its geographical scope, the Companion extends from South America and the Caribbean to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

"Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson" is an encyclopedic guide to the life and works of Emily Dickinson, one of the most famous and widely studied American poets of the 19th century. Known for her wit and preference for seclusion from the outside world, Dickinson rarely left her home in Amherst, Mass., preferring instead to write quietly from the confines of her bedroom. This new title contains close readings and critical analyses of more than 150 of Dickinson's best-known poems, including "Because I could not stop for Death," "I felt a funeral, in my Brain," "I died for Beauty - but was scarce," and "I like to see it lap the miles."

Edgar Allan Poe is one of America's best-loved authors. During Poe's short and turbulent life, he invented the modern detective story and horror genre with such immortal works as "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Fall of the House of Usher." He is also known for the haunting melody of his poetry, as in the classics "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and many more. In addition, Poe wrote numerous critical articles, reviews, and essays on a variety of subjects. "Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe" covers all of the writer's major and most minor works.

Dante Alighieri is one of the greatest poets in world history. His brilliant epic, "The Divine Comedy", an imagined journey through Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, continues to captivate readers. "Critical Companion to Dante" provides a reliable, up-to-date, and encyclopedic source of information on Dante's life and work for high school and college-level students, teachers, libraries, and the general public. This new title covers Dante's entire canon, including his beautiful love poems in "La Vita Nuova", his philosophical works, and much more.