The Culture of the New Capitalism

How is a classic book to be defined? How much time must elapse before a work may be judged a 'classic'? And among all the works of American literature, which deserve the designation? In this provocative new book Denis Donoghue essays to answer these questions. He presents his own short list of 'relative' classics - works whose appeal may not be universal but which nonetheless have occupied an important place in our culture for more than a century. These books have survived the abuses of time - neglect, contempt, indifference, willful readings, excesses of praise and hyperbole. Donoghue bestows the term classic on just five American works: Melville's Moby-Dick, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Thoreau's Walden,…