Is technology a boon to humanity, providing us with the means to further the dignity and prosperity of the human race? Or is it a deceptive lure that will draw society into a mind-numbing state, where our essence is stripped and we become machines ourselves? Throughout American literature, authors have expressed their reaction to the rapidly progressing society in which they lived. This reader draws together works that explore both answers to the question of technology’s beneficence. Three sections comprise the book, which contains literature from the 1880’s to the year 2000. Technology in American Literature is a great reference source for literature classes, as well as for technological institutions seeking to introduce humanities into the curriculum.