The Library of America Collection: 2012 Edition [Hardcover]

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The Library of America: Now available in one complete collection.

Thirty years ago, The Library of America was founded to undertake a historic endeavor: to help preserve the nation's cultural heritage by publishing America's best and most significant writing in durable and authoritative editions. Hailed as "the most important book-publishing project in the nation's history" (Newsweek), this award-winning series maintains America's most treasured writers in "the finest-looking, longest-lasting edition ever made" (The New Republic).

Now the entire Library of America series is available in one complete collection for home, office, or institutional libraries. The set is made up of 255 titles across a wide range of genres, including fiction, history, poetry, drama, essays, philosophy, travel writing, journalism, sermons, speeches, and slave narratives. From the writings of the Founding Fathers to the poetry of Walt Whitman and Robert Frost, from the journalism of the Civil Rights movement to the novels of Zora Neale Hurston and Philip Roth, from Abraham Lincoln: Speeches & Writings to H.P. Lovecraft: Tales, this is the ultimate collection of American letters.

For 2012, the Library of America Complete Collection has been updated and expanded with recently published titles including Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories, John Adams: Revolutionary Writings, H.L. Mencken: Prejudices, and The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael Click here to see the full list of volumes contained in the collection.

A Note on Production

Publishers Weekly has called The Library of America "a triumph of the bookmaker's art." Each volume in the series contains up to 1600 pages and includes a number of works. In many cases, the complete works of a writer are collected in as few as three compact volumes. The series sets extraordinarily high standards of textual, editorial, and production quality. Yet, thanks to nonprofit status, the costs of this quality are not passed on to the reader in the book's price, which is lower per page than virtually all other books on the market, hardcover or paperback. Each volume features:

• authoritative, unabridged texts
  
• a chronology of the author's life, helpful notes, and a brief textual essay
  
• a handsomely designed, easy-to-read page
  
• high-quality, acid-free paper, bound in a cloth cover and sewn to lie flat when opened
  
• a ribbon marker and printed end papers.

Test Your Library of America Knowledge

To welcome readers to our exclusive collection of Library of America editions, we've concocted a quiz (three of them, in fact) of opening lines from books in The Library of America Collection. Test your knowledge of the greatest works in American literature, and see how quickly you recognize the voices of the country's finest writers (and perhaps find yourself drawn into a tale you've never read before). You have three levels of difficulty to choose from. Work your way up, or jump in at any place:

• High School Level Quiz
  
• College Level Quiz
  
• PhD Level Quiz
  

Library of America Top Sellers

Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s

American Food Writing: An Anthology

Paine: Collected Writings

What are the bestselling titles in the Library of America? Here are the recent favorites, including a number of 20th-century writers new to the library: Dick, Lovecraft, Kerouac, Roth, Liebling:

• Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s (The Man in the High Castle; Ubik, etc.)
• American Food Writing: An Anthology
• Thomas Paine: Collected Writings (Common Sense; Rights of Man, etc.)
• H.P. Lovecraft: Tales
• Jack Kerouac: Road Novels, 1957-1960 (On the Road; The Dharma Bums, etc.)
• Flannery O'Connor: Collected Works (Wise Blood; Everything That Rises Must Converge; etc.)
• Dashiell Hammett: Complete Novels (Red Harvest; The Maltese Falcon; etc.)
• Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America
• Elizabeth Bishop: Poems, Prose, and Letters
• Bill McKibbon: American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau
• Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters (Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant; Selected Letters, 1839-1865)
• Raymond Chandler: Stories and Early Novels (The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; etc.)
• Tennesee Williams: Plays 1937-1955
• Raymond Chandler: Later Novels and Other Writings (The Lady in the Lake; The Long Goodbye; etc.)
• Thomas Jefferson: Writings (Autobiography; Notes on the State of Virginia; etc.)
• James Baldwin: Collected Essays (Notes of a Native Son; The Fire Next Time; etc.)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Library of America (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598530003
• ISBN-13: 978-1598530001
• Product Dimensions: 48 x 40 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 300 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,676,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing short of a milestone in publishing...., July 6, 2006

By 

Kenneth M. Pizzi (San Mateo, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Library of America Collection: 2012 Edition (Hardcover)

I started subscribing to the LOA when I began my masters degree in English during the early 90's, and all 183 volumes now proudly sit on the shelves of my dual bookcases (the collection has grown so much, I will need a third soon!) in my living room as a testament to my love of literature, history, and drama.

With these volumes I rekindle my fondness for the gaity of Fitzgerald, remain stylistically challenged by Faulkner, recite and relish the drama and pathos of Eugene O'Neill, and rediscover the raw naturalism of Frank Norris and Jack London of late nineteenth century San Francisco.

For those of us who have elected to subscribe directly from LOA rather than purchase these volumes from Amazon or through a local retailer like Borders, we save about $5.00-$7.00 per volume. I have the whole series, and started purchasing these over 13 years ago so you don't need a calculator to imagine how the savings accrue over time.

This is a set that you and your family will pass down for generations to come. They are a pleasure to read and hold from the quality of the cloth bindings to the clear typeface and the deluxe slipcase/cover available to LOA subscribers only. (A good investment, if you treasure your books as I do.) Besides, how many times can you read your Penguin Classics before the pages start falling out?

With so many volumes to discuss here, suffice to say having these works at my disposal in these beautiful, authoritative, and durable editions allowed me to craft some wonderful essays for my graduate-level seminars and my graduate thesis. The dual volume set on crime stories and the 2 volume set devoted to Raymond Chandler are, of course, some personal favorites. And reading the screenplay of "Double Indemnity" is just as enjoyable as watching the film. (LOA needs to put together a set of James Cain's stories as well--certainly the author of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Mildred Pierce" deserves a volume of his own.) Hmmmmm...I wonder if James Ellroy will ever get his own LOA edition?

The LOA's collection on early American authors like Franklin, Paine, Madison and Jefferson is exemplary, and the correspondence and speeches from George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt are also engaging and fascinating to read. The same holds true for the two editions devoted to the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence---its all there from the individual letters and correspondence of all the signers to Jefferson's intitial drafts of our nations's own birth certificate.

The collections of journalistic writings from both WWII and Vietnam are invaluable to any student of history who wishes to truly understand these pivotal wars and their impact on America and its role in world today.

The LOA is a national treasure. I love the most recent editions with a focus on James Agee's film criticism, the landmark works of Phillip Roth, and even the celebrated tales of H.P. Lovecraft! Not just a purchase, but an investment in knowledge. Great stuff.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overwhelmed!, July 5, 2006

By 

James Ferguson (Vilnius, Lithuania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Library of America Collection: 2012 Edition (Hardcover)

It is a staggering collection, better suited for libraries than the individual collector. I have to wonder if one can ever get through so many volumes. I have about 20 of the volumes already, and have enjoyed them immensely, as they provide excellent coverage of great American writers, political thinkers and essayists. I find the writings of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and the Constitutional Debates most fascinating, as they get to the heart of the so-called "original intent" of the Constitution. I also have copies of late 19th century writers like Melville and Whitman. However, my favorite remains the complete writings and illustrations of James Thurber, from which I draw endless pleasure. At this hefty price tag, I have to say it is better to buy the volumes you think best suit your interests. There really isn't that much of a "savings" in buying the complete set.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Best, June 8, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Library of America Collection: 2012 Edition (Hardcover)

What started out as a series of authoritative texts of the major literary figures of the 19th century (Twain, Hawthorne, Melville, Cooper, Poe, Henry James) soon expanded to lesser fictional writers of that century (Washington Irving, Stowe, Jewett, Howells). Then more modern writers were added (Faulkner, Cather, O'Neill, Dreiser, London), followed by non-fiction volumes (Parkman's works, the writings of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, Grant and Sherman's memoirs, the political writings regarding the formation of the Constitution, William James's philosophical works), until most recently collections of WW II and Vietnam reportage, baseball writings, mystery novels, and a large array of modern works, including poetry, have all been included - 183 volumes and counting.

The Library of America is truly a magnificent series. Each volume is huge (1,000 pages plus), often collecting three or four complete novels (depending on length) or scores of stories or articles or hundreds of poems; completeness is a trademark of the series. Extensive notes accompany all the texts, and the editions chosen for inclusion are meant to be definitive. Each volume is instantly recognizable due to the uniform white-on-black book jackets. One of my favorite things about these books is the fact that they are so well made with sewn bindings that should last a very long time; also, they lay flat when opened (honest!). Whether you can pop for the whole series at once or hunt them down one by one, this collection of America's finest writings in many different genres is the best there is and probably will never be surpassed.