The composition and rhetoric text is designed to help undergraduate students develop critical reading, writing, and thinking skills for self-defense amid the arguments that inundate them in American public discourse. Lazere (U. of Tennessee) wanted to be so comprehensive that he produced a tome so massive that even he had trouble using it, and no teacher could get through even their favorite parts of it in a single semester. So he has produced an edition that is about one-third shorter, mostly by dropping about half of the readings. The original is still available for use in a full year course or for teachers who have figured out how to squeeze the material into a semester. He begins by setting out rationales and definitions for studying rhetoric, then discusses psychological obstacles to critical thinking, thinking critically about the rhetoric of politics and the mass media, and putting it all together in a long paper. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)