From Cover to Cover and Sea to Shining Sea: The Authors who gave America its VoiceInstant American Literature delves into our rich literary heritage. Filled with quirky facts and lively illustrations, this spirited survey visits the war-torn trenches with Stephen Crane, creeps through the nightmarish realm of Edgar Allan Poe, and ponders Walden Pond with henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you don't know who (or what!) Natty Bumppo is or which legendary torne made famous the words "Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity! Then this book is for you. In this vastly informative entertaining compendium, you will:learn the true meaning of rejection from Emily Dickinson, who lived to see seven poems published-out of a prolific 1,775 masterpieces. discover which book was chosen by a federally appointed committee as a "must read."find out how Sir Walter Scott and the Underground Railroad made Frederick Douglas a free man. learn which writer's brain invented the headless horseman and get dirt on the original "Smashing Pumpkins"!Instant American Literature is packed with special features, including chapter summaries, "who's who: lists, illustrations and photographs, little-known biographical facts, and historical tidbits. Instant American Literature-It's in a class by itself.