This collection of essays in memory of Henry Nash Smith considers American literature as both a product and an agent of culture and ideology. Included are a biographical essay on Henry Nash Smith by historian Henry F. May and 'Mark Twain, Ritual Clown,' an important late essay by Smith, published here for the first time. Other distinguished contributors are Thomas F. Gossett, Eric J. Sundquist, Leo Marx, David Leverenz, Beverly R. Voloshin, Daniel Aaron, R.W.B. Lewis, Annette Kolodny, Sybil Weir, Larzer Ziff, Lorne Fienberg, Susan Gillman, Kermit Vanderbilt, and John S. Wright.