Because Prisoner's Dilemma is among the easiest Richard Powers novel to understand and interpret and because it is readily available in paperback, it is his most frequently taught novel in American literature classes at the undergraduate level, where fruitful group discussions of it regularly take place. This is not to say that students who read the novel have clear sailing; indeed, most of them find parts of it bewildering, but out of their bewilderment come the kinds of searching questions that lead to cogent discussions and to deeper understandings.

Particularly valuable to those who wish to discuss the book in group situations are Tom LeClair's article in The New Republic, which deals with the book as a systems novel, and Maureen Howard's review, "Facing the Footage" in The Nation.

\. What does the title mean? What is the prisoner's dilemma in the puzzle of the same name...