"Its selections are judiciously made, its introductions sound and focused on the real-world concerns of authorship in American history, its contextual material diverse, enriching, and to-the-point. I think that instructors who want for their undergraduate students a manageable anthology with an essential and diverse selection of texts, engaging biographical introductions, and contexts that ground the literature practically in the world of reading, publishing, and authorship will find The Bedford Anthology of American Literature a very attractive choice."
— Robert D. Habich, Ball State University
"This anthology is exceptional. The Bedford Anthology has two major advantages: a realistic balance of texts that acknowledges the frequent practice of assigning novels and autobiographies in full, and an incredibly fruitful, focused approach guided by questions of print culture and its attendant questions of authorship, circulation, and reception of literary texts."
— Matt Cohen, Duke University
"I can see myself teaching almost everything included here. Not only is the anthology representative, but it also serves to focus on some of the chief issues in early American studies today."
— Rosemary Fithian Guruswamy,
Radford University
"My overall reaction to this anthology is that it is one of the most thoughtfully organized and written anthologies of American literature that I have seen in recent years. Rich in visual materials, which are especially effective for an undergraduate audience, it is equally fulfilling in the content and choice of selections."
— Sharon M. Harris, University of Connecticut
"Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson have done a fine job conceptualizing a kind of American literature anthology not currently available. Their focused attention to reading, writing and print culture will remind students (and all of us) of the significance of literature as a way of knowing. As I read I also considered whether the introductory American survey I teach would need significant revision if I were to use an anthology like this one. I found I could teach my course with their book."
— Pattie Cowell, Colorado State University
"In sum, this text offers the best view of the cultural mosaic that is ‘American Literature’ that I have ever seen. I love the clear organization, and the various helpful apparati, especially the historical contextualizations of a work’s particular ‘place and time.’"
— Thomas Gannon, University of Nebraska
"I found this to be an excellent anthology, well-conceived and very well selected and edited, with some features that make it distinctive in the very crowded field of American literature anthologies. Its selectivity (resisting the imperative to include everything, as many modern American literature anthologies do) is a real virtue. I recommend it highly."
— David M. Robinson, Oregon State University