Thomas Pynchon has received an unparalleled amount of criticism in the twenty-five years since the publication of his first novel: two dozen books, dozens of chapters in other books, hundreds of articles, even his own journal. No other novelist has generated as much criticism in as short a time, making Clifford Mead's bibliography a welcome and indispensable guide.

Section one catalogues Pynchon's own writings—books, magazine contributions, reprints, translations, and piracies—while section two offers an exhaustive listing of virtually everything that had been written on Pynchon by 1989. Two special sections enhance the value of this book: one reprints Pynchon's dozen or so endorsements written for other books—most inaccessible or out-of-print—while the other reprints Pynchon's hitherto unknown contributions to his high school newspaper.

The book is illustrated throughout with photographs of dust jacket covers (including a trial cover for Gravity's Rainbow), rare ephemera, and pictures of the young Pynchon from his high school yearbook.