For one-semester introduction courses on selected masterpieces of Latin American Literature, or two-semester survey courses on the literatures and cultures of Latin America, or as a reader in more advanced genre courses. Unique in coverage, this comprehensive one-volume anthology of Latin American literatures from pre-Colombian times to the present covers not only the authors accepted within the literary canon but innovative contemporary voices that are now breaking the ethnocentric mold. It features detailed historical introductions to each period and writer, selections drawn from literary, historical, and socio-political contexts, and pedagogical aids that make the language accessible and that encourage critical thinking.