Dwight Thomas

This book is an essential for anyone with a deep, sincere interested in Edgar Poe and his works. Though it is a bit clunky and difficult to read straight through, it certainly gives an open picture of Poe without a lot of editorializing. It also serves as the single greatest reference work on Poe ever published. Its introductory pages include brief biographies of people who had some connection to Poe; those few pages alone make the book worthwhile.