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Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is widely seen as the quintessential "great American novel," and the extensive body of criticism on the work bears out its significance in American letters. American Icon traces its reception and its canonical status in American literature, popular culture, and educational experience. It begins by outlining the novel's critical reception from its publication in 1925, to very mixed reviews, through Fitzgerald's death, when it had been virtually forgotten. Next, it examines the posthumous revival of Fitzgerald studies in the 1940s and its intensification by the New Critics in the 1950s, focusing on how and why the novel began to be considered a masterpiece of American literature. It then traces the growth of the "industry" of Gatsby criticism in the ensuing decades, stressing how critics of recent decades have opened up study of the economic, sexual, racial, and historical aspects of the text. The final section discusses the larger-than-life status Gatsby has attained in American education and popular culture, suggesting that it has not only risen from the critical ash heaps into which it was initially discarded, but also that it has become part of the fabric of American culture in a way that few other works have.

American fiction --- History and criticism. --- Fitzgerald, F. Scott --- Geschichte. --- Harbison, John. --- 1920s. --- American Dream. --- American Icon. --- American Literature. --- Cultural Relevance. --- F. Scott Fitzgerald. --- Fitzgerald Studies. --- Gatsby Criticism. --- Jazz Age. --- Literary Criticism. --- Roaring Twenties. --- Robert Beuka. --- The Great Gatsby. --- LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General.

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In the wake of the Kennedy era, a new kind of ethnic hero emerged within African-American popular culture. Uniquely suited to the times, burgeoning pop icons projected the values and beliefs of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and reflected both the possibility and the actuality of a rapidly changing American landscape. In Black Camelot, William Van Deburg examines the dynamic rise of these new black champions, the social and historical contexts in which they flourished, and their powerful impact on the African-American community. "Van Deburg manages the enviable feat of writing with flair within a standardized academic framework, covering politics, social issues and entertainment with equal aplomb."-Jonathan Pearl, Jazz Times "[A] fascinating, thorough account of how African-American icons of the 1960's and '70's have changed the course of American history. . . . An in-depth, even-tempered analysis. . . . Van Deburg's witty, lively and always grounded style entertains while it instructs."-Publishers Weekly

African Americans --- Heroes --- Popular culture --- Negritude --- Heroism --- Persons --- Antiheroes --- Apotheosis --- Courage --- Social life and customs. --- History --- Race identity. --- Ethnic identity --- masculinity, blackness, race, heroism, role models, civil rights movement, social change, popular culture, african american, icon, black power, athletes, urban, blues, jazz, soul, musicians, celebrity, fame, notoriety, success, ambition, greatness, arthur ashe, joe lewis, hank aaron, shaft, blaxploitation, ghetto, racism, hollywood, film, dolemite, manhood, gender, virgil tibbs, nonfiction.