"As you enter this book you will find all kinds of texts: some are usually called 'literary' and some are not. This mixture is essential to our method. We do not want to offer you a collection of 'master' works that ask for your passive submission, but a set of texts that you can work and play with, increasing your own understanding of fundamental textual processes and your own ability to use the written word. We hope to help you feel more at home in the house of language, and we are confident that a better command of written language will contribute to a better life." -- from the authors' "Letter to the Student" in Text Book.