Book excerpt: Recently there have come to light several unpublished manuscripts by Walt Whitman which clarify the purpose, growth, and gradual unfoldment of Leaves of Grass, and possess at the same time sufficient literary distinction in their own right to warrant consideration as independent pieces of writing. This material covers a wide range of subject matter. The various manuscripts of prefaces for American editions of Whitman's poems, which were lost during Whitman's lifetime before they reached print and were rediscovered only after his death, have a fascinating history, and possess marked significance for the student and collector, as well as the casual reader of Whitman. In addition to these American prefaces, a selection of other significant Whitman manuscripts, dropped or withheld for various reasons during his lifetime, here appears for the first time. This material has been collected from scattered sources and has shaped itself into a single volume, the primary purpose of which is to contribute a composite picture of Walt Whitman, the literary workman. - Introduction.