《美國語文2(英漢雙語全譯版)》內容簡介︰This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, was originally prepared by William Holmes McGuffey, who was a professor at Miami University. They had a
profound influence on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works
and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible.
It is estimated that at least 125 million copies of this Eclectic Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster﹀s Dictionary. Since 1961
they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person﹀s name has come close to the mark. This Eclectic Readers are still in use today in
some school systems, and by parents for homeschooling purposes.
(美國)威廉‧H‧麥加菲(William H.Mcguffey)譯者︰範曉偉
威廉‧H‧麥加菲,美國著名教育家。1800年出生于賓夕法尼亞州,1826年畢業于華盛頓大學杰斐遜學院。在數十年教育生涯中,他曾擔任過邁阿密大學語言學教授,俄亥俄大學校長。自1845年開始任弗吉尼亞大學道德哲學教授。他還幫助組建了俄亥俄州公立學校體系。
早在19世紀初期,麥加菲就意識到,應該給那些孤獨的墾荒者和歐洲移民的後代提供普遍的教育,于是他利用自己作為演講家與教育工作者的天賦,開始為孩子們編寫系列教材。這套教材共7冊,從學齡前至第6年級。他前後花費了20多年的時間才完成全套教材的編寫。這套教材面世後就被美國很多學校選為課本。在75年間銷量高達1.22億,直到今天仍以各種版本流行于西方,被美國《出版周刊》評為“人類出版史上第三大暢銷書”,對美國青年的心靈塑造與道德培養產生了史無前例的影響。