Originally published in 1848, Edgar Allen Poe's "Eureka" stands as the single most important expression of the philosophic views on which all of his literary endeavours depend. Put in the context of Melville's "Moby Dick", Thoreau's "Walden", Whitman's "Leaves of Grass", and the music of Liszt and Wagner, it is an explosive, startlingly unconventional creation of the High Romantic era. Representing Poe's fantastical thoughts on how the universe was formed and what its future might be, this user-friendly critical edition is also the first to put "Eureka" in proper context. It includes Poe's proposed emendations to the text and sources and explains the setting in which it was produced, tying "Eureka" to world trends in philosophy and fast-breaking news in astronomy. To compile this definitive text, the Levines travelled to the special collections departments of various libraries to examine Poe's own notes on the various drafts. They also consulted with Poe scholars, classicists, and historians of astronomy. The result of their meticulous scholarship is a deep, broad, and thoroughly useful volume, essential for Poe scholars and valuable to anyone interested in American literature or the roots of science fiction.