"Backgrounds" is designed to assist student readers in an appreciation ofUtopia by shedding light on the different points of view contemporarywith More's work. Included are new selections from Saint Benedict and Tasso, as well as amedieval satire on the land of Cockayne. "The Humanist Circle", a carefully chosen selection of letters, includesanother important contribution by Erasmus. "Criticism" includes five new thought-provoking essays by Alistair Fox,Edward L. Surtz, G. R. Elton, Northrop Frye, and Robert M. Adams. Also new are selections from two modern anti-utopias orquasi-utopias-Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and B. F. Skinner'sWalden Two-plus a selection from Edward Bellamy's once futuristic butnow almost contemporary Looking Backward, which may be compared andcontrasted with More's masterpiece. An updated Selected Bibliography is also included.