A Picture and a Criticism of Life

"A model of concision and clarity, this fine study explicates important aspects of its topic and promotes dialogue on a key issue of the period."---American Literary Realism

"Reprints thirty-three of Dreiser's articles [and] amounts to an informal survey of American arts and popular culture at the turn of the 20th century. . . . A particular strength of the collection is the material that reveals Dreiser's interest in talented women." --Choice

"Along the way, the letters cast light on Dreiser's prickliness, his narcissism and his deep-set prejudices. . . . Pizer's annotations are concise and useful."--Times Literary Supplement

“[Pizer’s] thematic overview in his introduction is the most lucid survey I know of Dreiser’s philosophical and political ideas, literary credo, practices as magazine editor, attitudes towards publishers and film producers, and capacity for enduring friendships.”--Studies in American Naturalism