Introduction Ichiro Takayoshi; Part I. Themes: 1. The middle class Amy L. Blair; 2. Romance, marriage, and family Jennifer Haytock; 3. The working class Joseph B. Entin; 4. Sympathy and poverty John Marsh; 5. Black culture at home and abroad Etsuko Taketani; 6. The Southern heritage Michael Kreyling; 7. The literature of social protest in California David Wrobel; 8. Reckoning with Christianity Jason Stevens; 9. Diversity and American letters Yael Schacher; 10. This land is your land Robert B. Westbrook; 11. Look at the world! David Ekbladh and Ichiro Takayoshi; Part II. Formats: 12. Bestsellers David Welky; 13. Radio drama Neil Verma; 14. Crime fiction Charles J. Rzepka; 15. Documentary work Jeff Allred; 16. Modernism Milton A. Cohen; 17. The American stage Mark Fearnow; Part III. Institutions: 18. Federal Writers' Project Jerrold Hirsch; 19. Hollywood William Solomon; 20. Time Inc. Donal Harris; 21. The Communist Party Christopher Phelps; Echoes of the 1930s Morris Dickstein.