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Q&A What is the "acid test" for a nonfiction anthology?

I think "selected literary pieces or passages" is your linchpin here. Let's take that college mainstay, the Norton Anthology (this one is American Literature). This is a book which contains quote...

posted 8y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:35Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/21697
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:11:54Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/21697
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T05:11:54Z (over 4 years ago)
I think "selected literary pieces or passages" is your linchpin here.

Let's take that college mainstay, the [Norton Anthology](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0393913090) (this one is American Literature). This is a book which contains quotes, poems, short stories, and excerpts of longer works. (IIRC — it's been a while)

The various pieces can be grouped by kind (poetry, quotes), by date, by region, or any other criteria. There may be context, analysis, and discussion around the pieces, or just an introduction to each one. There is nothing in the book which doesn't pertain to those pieces, and the author(s) or editor(s) don't have another story to tell or another agenda to promote outside discussion of the pieces.

So to take your list:

- A book of American quotations _could_ be an anthology. I think it would need some context around the quotes to qualify.
- A cookbook might, but it would be a stretch. Cookbooks are instructional; you're actually meant to use the recipes. An "anthology cookbook" sounds to me like a collection of ancient recipes which are presented for educational purposes (like how the Egyptians prepared a corpse for mummification) rather than something you could use to make dinner tonight.
- Guy Kawasaki's book is his book, and if he includes other excerpts, that doesn't make it an anthology. If he were collecting an anthology of other people's work and he was the only one providing analysis, that might qualify.
- A magazine about something else which happens to have a section on X is not an anthology.
#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-04-12T09:58:21Z (about 8 years ago)
Original score: 6