This anthology, actually the first issue of what one hopes will be a highly successful literary magazine, is chock full of treasures. One could do a lot worse to discover the voices of tomorrow than look herein. Let's hope this issue garners its contributors some recognition, some prizes and careers to make readers heads swim for decades to come.

I absolutely love this book. It is a fine collection of stories by current, up and coming, new and established, honest and intellegent writers who write because they have always written. And while I've read it cover to cover, I still flip through for inspiration and laughs. Keep it by the bed, keep it under your pillow, but keep it near by if you can't read it until later, like after dinner, or whatever, just keep it around, because this little gem deserves a read.

This is a fine collection of new writings. Jeff Boison and Whitney Pastorek have outdone themselves. The selections by Bob Beier, Thisbe Nissen and the novelist Tom Bradley particularly stand out. Tom Bradley takes us deep into the Chinese jungle, to the lair of a witch who listens to Lennie Tristano on a transistor radio. PINDELDYBOZ is a must-read!

I feel sorry for the young person who thought this book was boring. What a shame that you can't relax and stop thinking about yourself long enough to take the time to revel in one of the greatest works in English literature.

The plot is timeless, and I can guarantee that many of the characters will resemble people you know. Yes, the dialogue may be difficult to follow at first but, after a while, "listening" to it becomes almost second nature.

I first read this book when I was 11 or 12, and have read it at least 10 or 15 times since, including at least twice for school. In fact, I chose to read it again just so I could write a paper on it.

Buy this book, sit down and lose yourself in this [post 9-11] world. Then try [The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature](I'm afraid I can't recommend Mansfield Park very highly). If you have any trace of imagination, you will be hooked.

Please, do yourselves a favor and read the book before seeing any of the adaptations. Each has its advantages, but the recent BBC/A&E version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle is a sight to behold. The Garvie/Rintoul version is also good, but not quite as beautiful to watch. It pains me to say this, but the Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier version is far and away the weakest.

When people look back upon the gonzo literary career of Neal Pollack, it's tough to reckon what they will make of his second book, "Beneath the Axis of Evil: One Man's Journey into the Horrors of War." Much shorter than his first book, "The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature", "Beneath the Axis of Evil" primarily serves to whet the appetite of Pollack fans eagerly awaiting the upcoming publication of his first novel. All the same, "Beneath the Axis of Evil" -- despite its brevity -- features a consistency and focus missing in Pollack's first book, a loose collection of humorous essays. Though entertaining, Pollack's essays lacked a common thread. "Beneath the Axis of Evil", however, should excite Pollack fans wondering how Pollack's writing has evolved in the years since his publication of "Anthology." Working with only 62 pages, Pollack doesn't overextend himself. The result is rewarding; Pollack's humor is a narrowly focused laser aimed without mercy at the circus of the absurd that is our global "War on Terror." I highly recommend this funny, subversive offering from Neal Pollack.

I sat and watched "The Simpsons" not knowing the audio channel was "The Little Rascals." We had gone into that village, and given each kid a comic book. On the way back to the village I saw a pile of comics at the gates, damp and moldy, pages curled and unfurled.

THAT's what I'm talking about, Captain.

Yes, you should buy this book. Sure the premise wears a little thin, but that doesn't happen until a month or so after you've finished the book, so you'll get more than your money's worth. The same thing was true of Woody Allen's early slender volumes, after all, although admittedly those pieces didn't begin to wear thin until well after college.

But in this age of lost privacy and foregone responsibility, in which writers gladly shed their skin to pay the price of fame's ticket, and the finger has been removed farther from the button than Musil ever dreamed, we should ask ourselves about Pollack's literary persona, briefly, and only half-seriously.

So: Genuine literary device, or cloak to mask an indefensible cynicism? As an excuse for shameless self-promotion: lighthearted, or disingenuine? Reply here, in the form of a review, of course.

But buy the book already. How can you answer these questions for yourself if you don't buy the book? Plus, Neal could use the support. For although we wish Neal the very best, there's every possibility this book will mark the apex of his fame: His next project is a CD of musically-accompanied poems.

Neal Pollack has written a splendid, hilarious, and badly needed parody of self-centered white male authors. His targets range from credible authors such as Gore Vidal and Hemmingway, to more minute members of the species such as Sebastian Junger. And while Pollack may not be aware of it, he has splendidly managed to ridicule the hubris, egotism, and total lack of talent of more obscure "all about me" writers such as Thomas Beller.

Many critics have argued that Pollack's joke was too narrow to warrant the number of pages contained in this modest sized volume. While it is true that some of the parodies are not as funny as others, the book remains, diverse, interesting, and consistently funny. In "The Albania of My Existence", Pollack (clearly imitating Sebastian Junger) discusses what war torn Albania means to his identity and his accomplishments. In "I Am Friends with a Working Class Black Woman" he mirrors countless White guys who believe they are cool enough to understand and to be accepted by poor black people. In "It is Easy to Take a Love in Cuba", Pollack... well, you get the idea. This book is hilarious. It strips egotistical, White male authors and puts them on display. There is no reason why we can't enjoy the writing of some of those authors and also enjoy the skillful manner in which Pollack roasts them.

im not in the book-selling biz, but The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature is the funniest f-ing thing ive read since 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" twenty years ago. Its a spinal tap for modern lit. It begins with this introduction:

"Recently, as I entertained a variety of friends and acquaintances (many of whom are employed in publishing and the arts), at my modest yet comfortable summer estate in Malta, it occurred to me that I am almost definitely the greatest writer of my time. I strained to think of others who could challenge my position, but they were too provincial,too tweedy, or too dead. No. I towered above the corroded wreckage that is American letters."

he exquisitely violates every level of literary sense - his leads are so bad theyre classic, his metaphors so tired they "glisten like a glistening jewel" -- this book not only makes me howl when i see vanity fair, or gore vidal, or norman mailer or oliver stone, or a couple of local friends anymore, it makes me nervous about including myself in my own writing - and best of all if one were to strip the style convention from the 'tome' the stories are roaringly ridiculous - this book accomplishes everything bret easton ellis tries to do - without all the posing