Book excerpt: Successful, and widely praised for its superior instructional apparatus and thought-provoking readings, The Macmillan Reader offers fresh examples of professional essays, separate chapters on reading and writing, detailed introductions to the patterns of development, and "before" and "after" essays for each pattern. This edition now contains 58 readings, a blend of classics and fresh new selections, chosen for their engaging and inspiring qualities. Two detailed introductory chapters discuss the reading and writing processes and illustrate the integration of these processes. Annotated essays, "before and after" versions, and commentaries illustrate the writing and revising process and highlight the kind of thinking necessary for revision. Detailed introductions to the rhetorical patterns, and uniquely thorough coverage of argumentation-persuasion includes sections on logic, refutation strategies, audience analysis, Toulmin logic, Rogerian argument, detecting bias, maintaining objectivity, and establishing common ground. Also new in this edition is coverage of computers in composition, and a documentation guide for online research. For those interested in sharpening their reading, writing and critical thinking skills.