From the heart of the Great Depression to the turbulent 1960s, the mid-century in America was a vibrant literary era. Linda Wagner-Martins comprehensive study encompasses the political literature that flourished in the 1930s, the beat movement of the 1950s, and the multicultural literature of the 1960s. Wagner-Martin includes in her critical consideration African-American women writers, Jewish writers, and gay and lesbian writers who have been...