Book excerpt: Focusing on a variety of topics, from the violence of war and the struggle for civil rights to the social impact of technology and the moral significance of money, this colorfully illustrated guide to American literature from the postwar period to the present day has been expanded and fully updated. A new section titled "Into the Future" contains a discussion of the best young writers of recent years. A concise, engaging guide to American contemporary literature, this volume provides information on 21st-century writers; the 1950s, '60s, and beyond; contemporary American poetry; and the postmodern movement. Topics include: Post-World War II and Vietnam War literature New Journalism Beat literature and existentialism The rise of ethnic and minority literature The civil rights movement Postmodernism Confessional poetry and poetry of witness Millennial voices in fiction And more. Writers covered include: Raymond Carver Sandra Cisneros Ralph Ellison Robert Frost Norman Mailer N. Scott Momaday Toni Morrison Sylvia Plath Thomas Pynchon Adrienne Rich J.D. Salinger Kurt Vonnegut Tom Wolfe And many others.