Focusing on twelve American writers--including Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Hart Crane--a renowned American literary critic discusses the greatest authors of American literature whose works make up what he calls the American sublime.

"Throughout his career, the Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa has grappled with the concept of Latin America on a global stage. Examining liberal claims and searching for cohesion, he continuously weighs the reality of the continent against the image it projects, and considers the political dangers and possibilities that face this diverse set of countries. Now this illuminating and versatile collection assembles these never-before-translated criticisms...