J. Sherwood Weber

This was pretty old and out-of-date when I first picked this up in a used book store. It was before much feminist criticism, for instance made its mark on the core curriculum. So in the list of 100 Significant Books, there are only 3 by women: Jane Austen, George Eliot and Emily Dickinson. Sappho isn't even listed in the section on Ancient Greek literature and Lillian Hellman is the sole female playwright mentioned in the section on Drama.

That said, I did find reading the 100 Significant books invaluable--an education in itself. I used it to keep my mind turning to mush during a time I had dropped out of college and every single book I read listed there gave me great insight into literature and Western culture as a whole. I haven't really explored the other recommendations, but given my good experience with that list, I'm keeping the book on my shelves so I can read more of their suggestions--even if a more up to date edition is badly needed.… (altro)