This book stems from the idea that literacy learning is the single most significant challenge facing this country and confronting people all over the globe. Chapter 1, "The Meaning of Literacy," explores various interpretations of the word "literacy" as a necessary basis for analyzing and evaluating literary programs. Chapter 2, "Chronology," presents an arrangement of events in time that are relevant to historical episodes and that show the sweep of literacy throughout the Western world and in the United States. Chapter 3, "Foundations of Literacy," explains alphabetic writing in ordinary language, while Chapter 4, "Consequences of Literacy," describes how the combination of alphabetic writing and movable type and the printing press literally shaped all aspects of Western thought and life. Chapter 5, "How We Learned to Read," follows the glacially slow evolution of reading matter, while Chapter 6, "Reading Literature--Literature as a Way of Knowing," examines the notion that there are two kinds of knowing and therefore two kinds of reading: what some call rational, scientific reading and literary reading. Chapter 7, "Reading Literature--New Criticism, Theory to Practice," and Chapter 8, "Reading Literature--Reader Response, Theory to Practice," sketch the evolution of how reading literature was viewed during the 20th century. Chapter 9, "Literacy among Diverse Learners," explores the processes of language acquisition, especially relating to literacy learning. Chapter 10, "Organizations and Educational Associations," lists organizations with a direct interest in literacy learning, while Chapter 11, "Selected Print and Nonprint Resources," lists print sources not already cited at the end of each chapter. (NKA)