This edition contains the most complete and authoritative collection of Whitmanís work in one volume.

The basic text is the "Comprehensive Readerís Edition" of Leaves of Grass, which includes the 1892 "deathbed" edition preferred by Whitman, all the prefaces to the editions of Leaves of Grass, 45 poems and 28 passages from poems excluded from successive editions, 22 previously unpublished poems, and 43 poems and 60 manuscript fragments never before collected—the fragments comprise over half of those in existence.

A special section, Whitman on His Art, contains prose statements on his role as an artist, taken from his notebooks, letters, conversation, and newspaper articles.

Criticism begins with Whitmanís own anonymous review and presents a wide selection of the diverse opinions that have been held since by critics and by poets.

Harold Blodgettís concluding essay discusses the pattern of Whitmanís critical fortunes.