'Bloom's Guides' are the successors to 'Bloom's Notes' & 'Bloom's Reviews'. They provide comprehensive reading & study guidance with a selection of critical excerpts from each subject text, a biographical sketch of the author, character lists & analysis.
Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995. Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.
There were some interesting thoughts, but unfortunately most of the essays in this volume lacked depth. I guess the limited space (page count) didn't help.