This book provides an excellent introduction to the historical context of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", both socially and theatrically, an overview of the themes of Albee's works and how "WAOVW" fits into it, and an insightful exploration of the characters and acts of the play.

In one sense the text is very accessible, written in a style and language suitable for the general reader. However, if you are not at least noddingly familiar with the works of Arthur Miller, Ionesco, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, Antonin Artaud, and August Strindberg you may find yourself a bit lost, since Roudane frequently references their work to either contrast with Albee or describe their influence on him or on the theater of the late 1950's and early 1960's. I think someone not familiar with those playwrights could still get something of value from the book, but they might find themselves skipping over more than a few pages. ( )