[This book] offers [an] entry to literature for all students, whatever their previous exposure to fiction, poetry, and drama. It contributes to a richer, more dynamic and valuable reading experience for students while in class, and demonstrates why and how reading is an important part of their lives in school and beyond. [The text] leads students to consider the human value of reading any effective literary work. By focusing on the reading process, it expands the notion of what a work is "about": It is about a lot of things, not a single topic or theme that readers must figure out through what to many beginning students seems a mysterious and esoteric method.... The emphasis on "active reading" throughout the text leads directly into student writing. -Pref.