To address the difficulties of teaching Robinson Crusoe to students who know the work only from popular adaptations, the contributors to this volume offer several classroom-tested strategies. The first group of essays describes the novel's publishing history, critical reception and current editions, as well as biographies of Defoe. The second group focuses on genres, such as travel writing and conduct books, and relevant concepts such as individualism, masculinity, race and colonialism. This section also demonstrates the ways the Crusoe story unfolds in later periods. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)