Research Catalog

Title

The rhetorical short story : best American short stories on war and the military, 1915-2006 / William M. Purcell.

Author

Purcell, William Michael, 1955-

Publication

Lanham : University Press of America, c2009.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

127 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"In The Rhetorical Short Story, Purcell examines over ninety short stories as rhetorical artifacts of nearly a century of American history. The words of over seventy-five authors present a pastiche of American voices, from the early days of the Great War to the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of the stories features a type of rhetorical depiction that enables its audience to connect vicariously with the experience presented by the author. This account sees the transformation of the American perspective from an insular one, which emphasizes the purpose driven actions of strong individual agents, to ones in which individuals are caught up in the inevitable consequences of an all-determining stream of events."--Jacket.

Subject

• War stories, American > History and criticism
• American fiction > 20th century > History and criticism
• American fiction > 21st century > History and criticism
• Literature and history > United States
• Short stories, American > History and criticism
• Military history in literature

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [117]-122) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Chapter one: The great war: slaughter, spirits, and the facts -- chapter two: The world goes to war again -- chapter three: America and the Second World War -- chapter four: Beyond the war.

ISBN

• 076184869X
• 9780761848691 (hbk.)

OCLC

443095518

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library