The 12 critiques and four essays in this volume offer the reader a rudimentary familiarity with the names of Third World writers and some of their outstanding work. This publication is intended as a catalyst for change in the selection and criticism of literary texts. As the 12 books reviewed here are typical, the critiques can lead to an understanding of the general character of current American literature anthologies with respect to their several traditional biases. Revealed are the ethnics racism, the emphasis on the Atlantic frontier, the Puritan spirit, and the Cavalier tradition. Revealed also is the pattern of reprinting what has been printed before and shunning the otherwise meritorious writer because he has not been previously anthologized. Some of the books reviewed are"American Literature,""American Literature: Tradition and Innovation,""American Poetry,""American Poetry and Prose,""American Poets from the Puritans to the Present," and "The American Tradition in Literature." The essays are on Afro-American Literature, Asian-American Literature, Chicanos and American Literature, and Native American Literature. Biographical sketches of contributers and a statement by the NCTE on criteria for teaching materials in reading and literature with respect to bias are inserted. (Editor/CK)