Adler’s intent here is not to read the American experience through its theatre, but to approach American drama through a considerable body of representative, and oftentimes critically acclaimed, popular plays. He analyzes each of these plays-including such classics as O'Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, Wilder’s Our Town, Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and Williams’s Streetcar Named Desire-in a brief interpretive essay, focusing on themes and theatrical techniques.