This collection of essays is a tribute to Eberhard Brüning, the Nestor of American Studies in East Germany, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. The subject areas addressed here - American fiction from Howells and Dreiser to Hemingway, West, Faulkner, and Wright; the problem of the color line; the historical and cultural relations between Saxony and the United States - reflect Eberhard Brüning's lifelong preoccupation with the American literary tradition and the transatlantic dialogue, especially between his home region and the United States. American and German colleagues and former students who have contributed essays are witness to the close personal and institutional relationships which Eberhard Brüning has built across borders, continents, and generations.