The Blair Reader [Paperback]

Laurie Kirszner (Author), Stephen Mandell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0131850601 | ISBN-13: 978-0131850606 | Edition: 5th

For English Composition courses. This broad thematic reader offers over 100 teachable essays selected by professors. Each teachable essay is supported by an introduction about the author, and writing activities. Additionally, each theme has a focus section which helps students expand their ideas and write about critical issues. This edition offers new non-fiction, poetry, and fiction selections as well as many new visual images give students a richer, more interesting learning experience.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This thematic reader offers provocative readings, discussion questions, and writing assignments designed to appeal to students with varied backgrounds and reading levels. Easy to use in the classroom and accessible and engaging for students, this text encourages them to think critically and make their own contributions through discussion and writing to the issues that shape the world. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Join the conversation of life

The Blair Reader offers you over 100 interesting and thought-provoking readings that encourage you to think critically and make your own contribution through discussion and writing about issues that shape the world. This edition offers new non-fiction, poetry, and literature selections as well as many new visual images to make your experience richer.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 832 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5th edition (July 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131850601
• ISBN-13: 978-0131850606
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Mandell is a bestselling author and a practicing teacher who is well known nationally. Mandell, together with coauthor Laurie G. Kirszner, has written bestsellers for nearly every English market. They have the deepest publishing record of any handbook author team and have successfully published up and down the curriculum from Developmental to Literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Core text for my college English classes., September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blair Reader, The (Paperback)

As a core text for my freshman writing classes, I use the Blair Reader to integrate the diverse ethnic backgrounds of my students through writers with whom they can relate. The Blair Reader also provides an instructor's resource manual that guides the teacher through the use of collaborative group and multimedia activities to stimulate student writing. I would highly recommend this text to any writing or reading instructor who faces the challenge of the diversified classroom.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blair Reader--- Full and Divers, April 16, 2001

By 

vanessa brown (lakeland, fl, fl USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blair Reader, The (Paperback)

This book was a core requirement for my freshman english class in college. It is a great text that familiarizes the student with many diverse writing styles and subjects, as well as the essentials of analyzing and interpreting literature. Though this is no doubt a dread to most college students, I really enjoyed the discussion in-class that was brought about by entries in this book (and i'm not even a nerdy English major!). One that stands out to me is an excerpt from Jonathan Kozol on illiteracy in america. I wrote an in-depth analysis of that work for the class, and have kept the skills I learned to this day. Whether used as a text, for leisurely reading, or for exposure to critical thought, the Blair Reader is an exellent volume. I highly recommend this book (even if your Enlgish professor doesn't make you buy it!).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book!, July 8, 2003

By 

nikki (Greenville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blair Reader (4th Edition) (Paperback)

The Blair Reader is a book of different essays that everyone can relate to. There are stories in this book that will make some people say,"thats what happened to me". Some of the stories in the Blair Reader will have you looking at certain situations differently. It acually opens your mind up to things around you in everyday life that you don't normally think about.So, read it, and you'll probably find it enjoying too.