A reader's guide to the short stories of Herman Melville /

Those familiar with Newman's Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (CH, Jul '80) will welcome this guide to Melville, It, too, is a ``compendium of historical and critical data,'' an outstanding synthesis of scholarship in handy format for both generalists and specialists. Each of Melville's 16 short stories is the subject of a chapter that gives theoretical and factual information in five segments: publication history; circumstances of composition, sources, and influences; relation to other Melville works; interpretations and criticism; and works cited. Unlike other G.K. Hall reference guides, which try to be comprehensive, this one cites only significant works. The essays maintain objectivity and impartiality by presenting all viewpoints in the critical profile for each story, carefully stating the main thesis of each critique. In the Hawthorne guide, Newman used entry numbers in the text to refer to entries in the bibliographies; in this guide, she uses authors' names, which makes access to cited sources simpler. This detail is indicative of Newman's concern for ``coherency and clarity without sacrifice of substance.'' An excellent choice for public libraries; essential for academic libraries.-J. Rudolph, Memphis State University