Although admired by D. H. Lawrence, this modern classic went generally unnoticed
during the years after its publication in 1925. Yet it is a fundamental book, e
ssential if one proposes to come to terms with American literature (Times Litera
ry Supplement). William Carlos Williams was not a historian, but he was fascinat
ed by the texture of American history. Beginning with Columbus s discovery of th
e Indies and moving on through Sir Walter Raleigh, Cotton Mather, Daniel Boone,
George Washington, Ben Franklin, Aaron Burr, Edgar Allan Poe, and Abraham Lincol
n, Williams found in the fabric of familiar episodes new shades of meaning and c
onfigurations of character. He brought a poetic imagination to the task of recon
structing a live tradition for Americans, and what results is one of the finest
works of prose to have been penned by any writer of the twentieth century."
