Like most customers of Amazon, I am always on the lookout for a bargain. You can understand why I salivated when I saw that a paperback edition of this mammoth collection of Dickinson's letters was available for only $8.93 -- far less than the expensive hardcover edition. Well, once again the adage of getting what you pay for is proved true. The book that arrived in the mail contains a small portion of the complete correspondence, and the format is not reader-friendly. No footnotes, not even a clear demarcation between the text of the letters and any explanatory information. Out-of-date is the kindest way to describe this edition. Don't fall into the trap that sucked $8.93 from my wallet!