Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel Invisible Man is one of the most important controversial novels in the American canon and remains widely read and studied. This Companion provides the most up-to-date introduction to this influential and significant novelist and critic and to his masterpiece. It features newly commissioned essays, a chronology and a guide to further reading. The essays recover the compelling urgency and relevance of Ellison's political and artistic vision. Students and scholars of American and African-American literature will find this work invaluable.