The Essential Theatre

I bought the last edition of The Essential Theatre (7th) for a class. It was easy to read and covered just about everything one could hope for in an introductory text. Now I'm a graduate student studying theatre. I bought the new edition to review the material I had a few years ago and was surprised to find a number of exciting new features including greater use of the internet to expand on subjects covered in the text. This book was very good before but with so many new features and the same authoritative coverage it's a pure joy and "essential" reading for anyone who truly cares about the Theatre.

If you have a Theater degree from any American college in the last decade, then you already own this book. This is the definitive text on Theater History. Brockett is the authority. No other comprehensive book on "general" theater history comes close. If you want the book that is on every theater historian's shelf, referenced in every Theater thesis or dissertation, and the text for every Theater History course in the nation, then order this.