Jonathan Swift

Hammond (modern English literature, U. of Nottingham) says that Swift (1667-1745) was a great writer because he was an extremist, starting his intellectual and moral journey where sensible people stopped, dealing with untouchable matters, asking fundamental questions, experimenting with mixed genres, and exhibiting a humor unbound by staid notions of propriety and taste. His account considers the historical and cultural contexts, early Swift, his religious satire, women, Ireland, Swift the poet, and contexts and the text of Gulliver's Travels. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)