Crash Course in American Literature

By Neal 

PW Daily reports that the Library of America has struck a deal with Amazon.com to sell a complete set of its omnibus editions of the great American writers at a 40 percent discount—that’s just $3,869 (they’ll throw in the shipping charges). That’s 183 books, from the early American Gothics of Charles Brockden Brown to the first novels and stories from Philip Roth. The promotion runs through February of 2007, when the Library celebrates its 25th anniversary, although it’s unclear if it will include whatever they’re publishing between now and then. Unfortunately, too, it’s impossible to tell from the LOA website what those new books might even be, as the “forthcoming titles” section is stuck a few seasons back.