His first novel, Northern Lights (1975), remains obscure, but O'Brien fans have unearthed it to find the roots of his fictional vision. ... These same concerns are evident in his award-winning short-story cycle The Things They Carried (1990), powerful tales so much like memoirs that O'Brien feels compelled to emphasize in a prefatory note that what follows is "a work of fiction." ... This novel clearly demonstrates how O'Brien's Vietnam anxieties are actually versions of the anxiety that we all feel in the nuclear age. O'Brien treats the Vietnam War even more obliq...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Amy Tan's enjoyable novel, The Joy Luck Club, about the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers and four Chinese-American daughters, I found out the answer to this question. ... From the beginning of the novel, you hear Suyuan Woo tell the story of "The Joy Luck Club," a group started by some Chinese women during World War II, where "we feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories. ... Most importantly, she notes, "In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you." ... This novel has not only given great in...

• Word Count: 728
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

From the beginning of the novel, you hear Suyuan Woo tell the story of "The Joy Luck Club," a group started by some Chinese women during World War II, where "we feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories. ... Most importantly, she notes that "In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you." ...

• Word Count: 444
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

One thing that's really struck me about this book is Woodward's use of personal anecdotes - on the very first page, we hear about CIA Director George Tenet's background like he's a character from a novel, and in chapter 6, he recounts how Condoleezza Rice cried at "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing at Buckingham Palace, and don't forget about Powell's "don't break down" note to President Bush mentioned on the next page. ...

• Word Count: 555
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

As the main character in the novel, Fowler possessed many complex levels to his psyche. ... Americans were not very popular in Greene's novel, and Pyle was the hated American. ... In a note at the beginning of the book to friends of his in Vietnam, Greene wrote "...the historical events, in at least one case have been rearranged. ... The Novel aroused a lot of different interpretations, and gained a lot of popularity. ...

• Word Count: 955
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Whitman notes how he engages each individual differently and yet still gives each patient the time needed to cope, uncertain if they are dead or alive. ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading this poem and will continue to read more of Whitman's novels and poems....

• Word Count: 724
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. ... In the chapter-by-chapter analysis, especially in the Notes, The Fitzgerald's critique of the dream of success is developed primarily through the five central characters and through certain dominant images and symbols. ...

• Word Count: 798
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Scholars Interpret The Constitution The book Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and justice in the origins of America were written by Thomas West in 1997 through 2001. Thomas West undoubtedly supports the constitution, it's framers, and the way it was applied to our society for the fir...

• Word Count: 705
• Approx Pages: 3

Dreamwork Dreams are an interesting topic because everyone has different dreams at different times that mean different things to them. Much is known about dreams because they have meant something to people across all cultures. At the same time there is a lot to learn about dreaming because sci...

• Word Count: 996
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography