The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages

Amazon.com

Discussed and debated, revered and reviled, Bloom's tome reinvigorates and re-examines Western Literature, arguing against the politicization of reading. His erudite passion will encourage you to hurry and finish his book so you can pick up Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens once again to rediscover their original magic. In addition, his appendix listing of the "future" canon - the books today that will be timeless tomorrow - is sure to be the template for future debate.

Sanford Pinsker, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Where others fall silent as literature is abandoned for the charms of Continental, post-structuralist theory, or the allure of social engineering, (Bloom) offers up nearly 600 provocative, cogently argued pages that revolve around the only question about the Canon worth asking: "What shall the individual who still desires to read attempt to read, this late in history?"