Book excerpt: The Book Contains Well Researched Articles By Scholars From Indian Universities. The Articles Offer A Comprehensive View Of What American Fiction Has Been Like During The Last Hundred Years Or So. American Culture, Society, Family, Cities Of Blacks And Whites Have Been Variously Framed Into The Narrative Art Form By A Galaxy Of Talented American Novelists : Mark Twain, Henry James, Theodore Dreiser, Faulkner, Hemingway, Saul Bellow, Salinger, Norman Mailer, John Barth, Thomas Pynchon, Ernest J. Gaines, Among Others. The Editor Has Adopted A Chronological Approach And The Emphasis In Articles Has Fallen Upon Providing A Synoptic View Of American Fiction Rather Than Giving A Historical Account Of It. The Approaches Covered Here Are Multi-Disciplinary As Well As Intertextual. The Reader, Teacher And Scholar Should Find The Book Full Of Fresh Insights.