A volume divided into seven parts, each beginning with a new introductory chapter presenting up-to-date findings on the topic at hand, followed by one or more classic papers from the authors exemplary research program.

ContentsForeword, Isabel L. BeckPrefaceI. The Role of Context Effects in Models of Reading1. Early Applications of Information Processing Concepts to the Study of Reading: The Role of Sentence Context2. Automatic Contextual Facilitation in Readers of Three AgesRichard F. West and Keith E. Stanovich3. Toward an Interactive Compensatory Model of Individual Differences in the Development of Reading Fluency4. The Interactive Compensatory Model of Reading: A Confluence of Developmental, Experimental, and Educational PsychologyII. Phonological Sensitivity and the Phonological Core Deficit Model 5. Early Reading Acquisition and the Causes of Reading Difficulty: Contributions to Research on Phonological Processing6. Assessing Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Children: Issues of TaskComparabilitywith Anne E. Cunningham and Barbara Cramer7. Explaining the Differences between the Dyslexic and the Garden-Variety Poor Reader: The Phonological-Core Variable-Difference Model8. The Phenotypic Performance Profile of Reading-Disabled Children: A Regression-Based Test of the Phonological-Core Variable-Difference Modelwith Linda S. SiegelIII. Matthew Effects in Reading9. Tying It All Together: A Model of Reading Acquisition and Reading Difficulty10. Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of LiteracyIV. The Importance of Word Recognition in Models of Reading11. The Word Recognition Module12. Concepts in Developmental Theories of Reading Skill: Cognitive Resources, Automaticity, and Modularity V. The Cognitive Consequences of Literacy13. Measuring Print Exposure: Attempts to Empirically Track Rich GetRicher Effects14. Exposure to Print and Orthographic Processing, with Richard F. West15. Does Reading Make You Smarter?: Literacy and the Development of Verbal Intelligence16. Literacy Experiences and the Shaping of Cognition, Stanovich, with Anne E. Cunningham and Richard F. WestVI. Discrepancy Definitions of Reading Disability17. Reading Disability Classification: Are Reforms Based on Evidence Possible?18. Discrepancy Definitions of Reading Disability: Has Intelligence Led Us Astray?VII. The Reading Instruction Debate: Comments on the Reading Wars19. Putting Children First by Putting Science First: The Politics of Early Reading Instruction20. Romance and Reality21. 25 Years of Research on the Reading Process: The Grand Synthesis and What It Means for Our Field

"This book is a tour de force in which Keith Stanovich reflects on his lifetime of pioneering research in the field of reading acquisition and disabilities. Presented are classic papers published over more than two decades, together with lucid discussions of Stanovich's current thinking on each topic. Readers gain the rare opportunity to observe how a scientist of this caliber develops his ideas and arguments over time, and why. Of particular relevance to readers interested in language and literacy disabilities are Stanovich's arguments for using theories of normal processing to constrain theories of reading disability; his case for seeing phonological problems as the source of most reading disabilities; and the evidence he presents on how the gap between poor and good readers widens with age."--Judith F. Duchan, PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo"This superbly written work will serve as a monument to many of the late 20th century's remarkable scientific achievements in the field of reading acquisition and reading disabilities. It is also a moving personal testament to an exceptionally creative scientist, profound thinker, and humanist. The volume will be an invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers in education and psychology, as it reveals not only many of the psychological mysteries of reading, but also the inner workings of the practice of science." --David L. Share, PhD, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel"Keith Stanovich weaves many of his important papers into a splendid tapestry of programmatic research." --Philip B. Gough, PhD, Barbara Pierce Bush Regents Professor, University of Texas at Austin"Keith Stanovich takes us on a personal tour of nearly 25 years of research and controversy in reading. We get some of his best papers--papers very important to the field--reprinted in one volume. The new material that interleaves these papers gives rich inside views on the process of research and its historical and social contexts. The 'Best of Stanovich,' as one would expect, is very good indeed." --Charles A. Perfetti, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh -