Critics’ Reviews

“Broadview has surpassed itself. This eclectic anthology represents the essay as a supple form of expression, and its subject as all that pertains to the human condition. Invaluable for the classroom, this collection will also challenge, amuse, provoke, and console the general reader.” – Susanna Egan, University of British Columbia

“The Broadview Anthology is one of the best essay anthologies I have seen. The remarkable diversity of the essays covers an impressive range of authors, styles, topics, and viewpoints. Included are essays from the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences; scholarly essays, literary essays, and popular essays; traditional essays and contemporary ones; short essays and long ones; essays in a wide range of tones and of voices, by men and women from a wide range of backgrounds. An added bonus is the historical range of prose styles from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. The quality of the essays also deserves high praise; again and again these readings demonstrate how the most common questions may provoke uncommon insights. Many selections have a sharp edge but they challenge a reader’s mindset without being confrontational. The topics make one take notice; the essays then lead the reader through the complexities of analysis. This anthology of significant, incisive, diverse essays should make a significant contribution to the recognition of the essay as a vitally important genre—and of essay writing as a vitally important literary and argumentative art.” – Paul D. Farkas, Metropolitan State College