"Before writing his first novel, Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser contributed these previously uncollected articles to various popular magazines around the turn of the nineteenth century, such as Success, Ainslee's, Cosmopolitan, Metropolitan, Demorest's, Pearson's, Everybody's, Harper's Monthly, and Truth. This body of nonfiction writing reflects not only Dreiser the novelist but the turn of the century, an exciting era in the development of American culture and society." "In this volume, illustrated with period photographs, Yoshinobu Hakutani has provided a historical introduction on the social and cultural milieu of the day. Dreiser's brief essays are accompanied by Hakutani's notes on now-obscure individuals, sites, and scenes mentioned by Dreiser."--Jacket.