What are we reading today, and why are these books and their authors so popular? Where can we find a complete literary analysis of the works of each best-selling author? To meet the obvious need for analysis of popular fiction, Greenwood Press, along with an advisory board composed of high school English teachers and high school and public librarians, developed the Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers series. Series Editor Kathleen Gregory Klein, author of Great Women Mystery Writers (Greenwood Press, 1994), defines the editorial mission of the series: "Taken collectively, the volumes in the series provide a wide-ranging investigation of the complexities of current best-selling fiction. By treating these novels seriously as both literary works and publishing successes, the series demonstrates the potential of popular literature in contemporary culture." The volumes in the series provide biographical information, literary heritage, and chapters on each writer's most popular and recent novels. Each chapter discusses one novel and is divided into sections on plot, character development, theme, and alternative readings. In the alternative readings section two or three particular ways of reading the novel are presented as a means of showing how each specific perspective can reveal important aspects of the book. Many popular writers like Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Colleen McCullough will be covered during the coming months and years. "...Students in high schools and colleges, as well as the public at large, finally have access to scholarly but readable analyses of the best-selling works of popular authors. For school assignments, readers will value the literary analyses of their favorite books, and everyone is sure to appreciate the connections that are made between each author's life and his or her writings. The alternative interpretation(s) of each novel provide an unusual bonus for serious readers." Donald Gallo Professor of English Central Connecticut State University