John Updike: an American writer and his times -- Why write: Updike as craftsman, professional, and celebrity -- Pennsylvania as American ideal -- Updike's poetry -- Rabbit, run and American culture -- Chronicler of American sexuality -- Rabbit lives and dies -- Between writer and reader: Updike as critic -- Master storyteller -- Radical departures: Updike as experimental novelist -- Updike's audience -- Racing toward the apocalypse: Updike's new America -- Evolution of a literary lion
