The 28 essays reprinted here are arranged in four sections that offer theoretical, historical, educational, and community perspectives on the whole topic of literacy. In addition to their substantial introduction, the editors provide an exhaustive bibliography based on the citations to the essays.

Kintgen, Kroll, and Rose see literacy as an extremely complex area of inquiry in which all aspects are interrelated, and they hope to avoid creating or perpetuating false boundaries within the field.

The book s first section contains articles dealing with various psychological and economic...