Second edition. Spine of jacket lightly wrinkled and faded, head of spine lightly chipped. Else a fine copy. Issued as volume 2 of the series "Contemporary Writers of the English Language." Preface by Walter Allen. An extensive and authoritative reference guide to more than 600 novelists and short story writers. Each entry contains: a biography, full bibliography, locations of manuscript collections, comments by many of the novelists on their own work, followed by a signed essay by one of more than 200 critics.