This introduction to American literature and culture from 1900 to 1960 is organized around four major ideas about America: that is it "big", "new", "rich", and "free".

• Illustrates the artistic and social climate in the USA during this period.
• Juxtaposes discussion of history, popular culture, literature and other art forms in ways that foster discussion, questioning, and continued study.
• An appendix lists relevant primary and secondary works, including websites.
• An ideal supplement to primary texts taught in American literature courses.

Gail McDonald is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Southampton. She is the author of Learning to Be Modern: Pound, Eliot, and the American University (1993). She is also a Founder and Past President of the Modernist Studies Association.