Peter G. Beidler�'s Reader�'s Companion is an indispensable guide for teachers, students, and general readers who want fully to appreciate Salinger�'s perennial bestseller. Now nearly six
decades old, The Catcher in the Rye contains references to people, places, books, movies, and historical events that will puzzle many twenty-first-century readers. Beidler�'s guide provides
some 250 explanations to help readers make sense of the culture through which Holden Caulfield stumbles as he comes of age. It provides a map showing the various stops in Holden�'s Manhattan
odyssey. Of particular interest to readers whose native language is not English is the glossary of more than a hundred terms, phrases, and slang expressions.In his introductory essay,
���atching The Catcher in the Rye,���Beidler discusses such topics as the three-day time line for the novel, the way the novel grew out of two earlier-published short stories, the extent to
which the novel is autobiographical, what Holden looks like, and the reasons for the enduring appeal of the novel.The many photographs in the Reader�'s Companion give fascinating glimpses into
the world that Holden has made famous. Beidler also provides discussion of some of the issues that have engaged scholars down through the years: the meaning of Holden�'s red hunting hat,
whether Holden writes his novel in an insane asylum, Mr. Antolini�'s troubling actions, and Holden�'s close relationship with his sister and his two brothers.Readers of A Reader�'s Companion to
J. D. Salinger�'s The Catcher in the Rye will wonder how they managed without it before.
