Literacy in American Lives
"Literacy in American Lives is a meaningful contribution to the field of literacy and an important and necessary read for students of literacy history, researchers and theoreticians, leaders in the literary associations, and legislative policy makers."   Journal of Literacy Research"In Literacy in American Lives, Deborah Brandt raises the bar for the sound understanding of literacy at the end of the millennium.  She does this by embedding her understanding--and ours--in an impressive blend of interdisciplinary approach and perspective; historical and cultural contextualization; and humane passion for her subject, the individual lives whose narratives undergird and mediate her interpretation, and all of our hopes and needs for the 21st century.  Her treatment is fresh and original. Professors and educators across disciplines and institutions should read Literacy in American Lives.  But its combination of sane argument and methodological rigor on a topic where commentators can succumb to excess calls out to readers beyond the academy."   Harvey J. Graff, University of Texas at San Antonio"This book makes a significant contribution to literacy studies, and it deserves to be widely read.  Brandt pushes us to reconsider many settled assumptions about how people learn to read and write, and she does it in lyrical prose that is a pleasure to read.  I expect that we will be talking about and following the lead of her work for a long time."   Rhetoric Review