The University Press of Kentucky

Acclaimed author and Catholic thinker Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) penned two novels, two collections of short stories, various essays, and numerous book reviews over the course of her life.

While vampire stories have been part of popular culture since the beginning of the nineteenth century, it has been in recent decades that they have become a central part of American culture.

From the worship of Michael Jordan to the downfall of O.J. Simpson, it has become clear that sports and sports heroes have assumed a role in American society far out of proportion to their traditional value.

When Evelyn Waugh wrote The Loved One (1948) as a satire of the elaborate preparations and memorialization of the dead taking place in his time, he had no way of knowing how technical and extraordinarily creative human funerary practices would become in the ensuing decades.

The writings of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) have captivated scholars, activists, and ecologists for more than a century.