Sandra Cisneros is a Mexican-American novelist and poet whose works appeal to a broad spectrum of American readers. When her first book was published in 1984, she broke new ground; today, Cisneros is a popular and admired writer around the world. She is also a dedicated activist who works tirelessly for Mexican-American causes. Readers of Sandra Cisneros will learn how Cisneros went from being a poor, underprivileged kid in the barrio to the internationally...

Ha Jin is a contemporary Chinese American poet and novelist who is most commonly associated with the Misty Poetry movement. His contributions to the world of fiction have been awarded with such honors as the National Book Award and the Townsend Prize for Fiction. This Guggenheim Fellow was a young child in China under communist rule and was only 14 years old when he became a member of the People's Liberation Army. In this riveting book about this...

Kurt Vonnegut was an American novelist, short story writer, playwright and also published five works of non-fiction. His careers spans 50 years. This book features an in-depth look the life of the author as well as a close examination of the most widely-read of his works. Plot summary, excerpts, character analysis, and themes for each work covered are revealed. Critical analysis from differing points of view of the work is also presented. With this...