“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. They are engines of change, windows on the world, lighthouses erected in the sea of time,” is an infamous qoute by Barbara W. Tuchman on her view of the importance of literature. Literature has always been a crucial part of society. Its used to by the author to show his/her strong thoughts and feelings therefore acting as the ideal source of expression of many individuals. Some use literature to express themselves by reading the art work of the Greats, entering an alternate reality the story creates. Others prefer to create the alternate reality themselves and write their own personal expert peices of literature. Personally, I love to surround myself with both forms. However, I can't just read the book. There's so much more inbetween the lines that tells a whole different story. The story being of the author, and what's going on around him/her. You analyze a book, you analyze the author. You can see how it was during that time, how life was. One of America's most important eras was the Encounter and Foundation Era (1500-1800) and what was going on during that era greatly effected in it's literature. How interesting would it be to study a time frame just by reading the books? I'm not talking about the textbooks either, the fiction. That pure curiousity and challenge of getting inside of the minds of the authors of the greatest time period of American history sparks my intrest, and while doing so unlock pieces of history that no textbook can give you.
