America in modern times, since 1890 Book

Very rarely have I given a book five stars. This engaging and efficient (94 pages, minus footnotes) production deserves it. Within the first page, Acocella quickly changed my reticence about groping for meaning from literary critics into a determined and engrossing discovery about the world(s) of literary criticism, while learning more about Cather as a person and an author - and painlessly. I closed the book feeling enlightened and convinced to read a more of Cather's work ane to keep an eye out for more of Acocella's points of view. So glad I spent all of a few days relishing every chapter.