Although admired by D. H. Lawrence, this modern classic went\ngenerally unnoticed during the years after its publication in 1925.\nYet it is a fundamental book, essential if one proposes to come to\nterms with American literature (Times Literary Supplement). William\nCarlos Williams was not a historian, but he was fascinated by the\ntexture of American history. Beginning with Columbus s discovery of\nthe Indies and moving on through Sir Walter Raleigh, Cotton Mather,\nDaniel Boone, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Aaron Burr, Edgar\nAllan Poe, and Abraham Lincoln, Williams found in the fabric of\nfamiliar episodes new shades of meaning and configurations of\ncharacter. He brought a poetic imagination to the task of\nreconstructing a live tradition for Americans, and what results is\none of the finest works of prose to have been penned by any writer\nof the twentieth century.

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