The Writer's Presence: A Pool of Readings (ISBN 0312400276)

Great book for college students:
This book is amazing it includes the greatest essays i have ever read. I am studying in college and this book is requiered. For people who like to analize and enjoy reading short essays this is great; the different type of topics is very wide and the opinions from one writer to the other have a huge gap, which offers a variety of points of view.

Many of the writings are in the public domain, making this book a typical college textbook rip-off!:
This book was required for a writing class I took in college. I am not rating based on the quality of the writings, but on another matter. One interesting thing about this collection is that so many of the works contained in this book are in the public domain and can easily be read online for free or bought elsewhere in print for much cheaper. Or use the public library! Examples: The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass And many more, plus magazine article reprints that are often put online for free reading. I just wanted to make potential buyers aware of this fact before dumping close to $60 into something in which much of its contents are free. I bet you could buy all the copyrighted works in individual print separately for far less than this collection as a whole. Like nearly all textbooks, this book is a true rip-off, and costs far more than it is worth. If it wasn't used in college, it would probably be a $20 book, if that. If your class requires it, then I guess you are a victim like the rest of us, be sure to buy used. If you are not required to buy it, don't! Don't support the publishers that gouge the students just because they know they can get away with it! Just my 2 cents.

This is a PHENOMENAL collection of phenomenal writing.:
I found this book at my favorite bookstore and have been reading it from cover to cover since. Though it's apparently used for classes, if you love reading and especially writing, then this book has ALL examples of the finest in every category. It is a winner and I only put it down to write this brief review! I am so glad that I picked it up, I saw others but they dull in comparison. I have the 4th edition and don't really see the need for the 5th since I'm reading it for pleasure and it's much cheaper and easier to find too! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I am right now.