But the book is much more than tips and tools and techniques. It also provides information on various learning-situation elements—skewed information, perhaps, but as S/oren Kierkegaard observed, “Education without bias is like love without passion.” You’ll hear my educational-beliefs coming through: I don’t believe, for example, in long lectures. I’m opposed to death by PowerPoint. I think people have to get involved in order to get educated. I prefer table groups to lecture-hall seating.
This work consists of short excerpts of criticism of 20th-century American authors by important critics writing in newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, and books. The excerpts (ranging in length from one or two paragraphs to two columns) are allowed to stand on their own without separate plot synopses, summaries, or background information on the authors.
Saddleback Classics were expressly designed to welcome developing readers to the wondrous world of great literature. Each novel, complete in just 80 pages, has been painstakingly adapted to retain the integrity of the original work. Each provides the reader a sence of the author's style and an understanding of the novel's theme. The low reading level assures success and stimulates a desire for further reading. And it goes without saying that the beloved characters and ever popular plots of these masterpieces guarantee a high interest level!
