"The quality of this work is so high that it will challenge and reward even readers whose critical presuppositions diverge from those which LaCapra represents so provocatively."—Richard Terdiman, University of California, Santa Cruz"LaCapra here writes cogently on the historicity of literature. His readings of texts are sensitive, controlled, and engagingly illuminating. In each and every instance, the specialized reader as well as the beginning student will find them rewarding."—Wlad Godzich, Université de Montréal