The Conscious Reader, Ninth Edition (Paperback)

~ Caroline Shrodes (Author), Harry Finestone (Author), Michael Shugrue (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Through eight editions, this classic thematic anthology has been hailed for its exceptionally rich collection of essays, memoirs, stories, poems, plays, and fine art. Renowned for the quality of its selections, The Conscious Reader presents 170 pieces representing a range of genres: 29 personal reminiscences, 70 essays, 18 short stories, 42 poems, 2 plays, and 9 pieces of full-color art. Featuring a wide array of culturally diverse authors and fascinating topics, the readings also cover a broad range of academic disciplines, including art, cultural studies, education, psychology, philosophy, politics, science, technology, and environmental studies. The works range from the classical-Plato's Crito-to the contemporary-Maya Angelou, Roger Rosenblatt, and Tony Kushner. Brief, flexible apparatus includes an introduction to each theme and helpful headnotes, discussion questions, and writing assignments for each selection.

From the Back Cover

This book is rich in its diverse selection of readings - from the arts to biology; from computer science to cultural studies - with authors who represent the spectrum of American ethnic cultures, as well as minorities and women. The anthology's 174 selections are arranged thematically to lead readers from questions about self-discovery to consideration of the rewards and conflicts inherent in relationships with others. Authors whose works are included comprise of: Annie Dillard, Garrett Hongo, e.e. cummings, William Butler Yeats, Mike Royko, Plato, Margaret Atwood, and many others. A strong tool for middle school, high and college school teaches who want a diverse group of readings for their classrooms. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 9 edition (June 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321160746
• ISBN-13: 978-0321160744
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #778,752 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent textbook for first-year college students., October 7, 1998

By A Customer

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

This book provides a good range of diverse materials for a teacher in a first year English course. There are multiple genres and themes, a section of famous paintings for discussions (useful for discussions on literature and art), among other helpful features. The Conscious Reader is an antidote to readers which have the same standard writing for student use.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lit teacher, August 27, 2005

By	Lit Instructor - See all my reviews

The book does provide a diverse range of genre. It works well as a literature textbook. However, the quality of the book binding is poor. Students purchase this $50+ textbook only to have chunks of it fall out before the end of the semester. I suppose the publisher sells more textbooks that way, since few books are resold as used books, but I can't recommend it for just that reason.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read! This has made me want to read many other books!, September 27, 2009

By	Andrew Siemer "Andrew Siemer" (Lancaster, California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Conscious Reader, The (11th Edition) (Paperback)

I was instructed to purchase this book for my English 1 class. We are using the book in the following manner:

1. Selected a story to read.
2. Read it.
3. Write a review about what we read.
4. Discuss the story and the review.

Under this concept I have been forced to read many of the items numerous times. This has been quite fun as many of the pieces are easy to read again and again and maintain interest. The authors and the pieces that were selected for this book were well chosen. While I can't say that I have enjoyed every piece that I have read I have yet to find anything that was poorly written. This is a great book to use to study the English language.