if you're a baby critic and/or got into grad school and/or are tired af of people talking about 'structuralism' or 'cultural studies' like they know what they're talking about (most of them don't!), my recommendation 4 u. i think it's in its 4th ed now

table of contents: this is not a long book, though. my copy (2nd ed) is 354 pages total.

and if you teach theory and/or criticism, especially if you're winging it a lil bit (let's be honest), PLS make your life easier.

robert dale parker tha GOAT