Chronology; Introduction: sucking in the '70s Kirk Curnutt; Part I. Themes: 1. In the shadow of the 1960s: 'what do we do now?' Matthew Luter; 2. 'It's not okay with me': the 1970s war against nostalgia Steven Goldleaf; 3. 'We interrupt this program': narratives in conflict in American postmodern literature of the 1970s Eric G. Waggoner; 4. 'All in the family': ancestral voices and ancestral Gods in 1970s multiculturalism Christopher Douglas; 5. 'An element of present danger': jogging, football, and anxieties of vulnerability in 1970s sporting literature Ryan Hediger; 6. 'The zipless fuck is absolutely pure': sexual liberation and 1970s American literature Dale M. Bauer; Part II. Genres and the Business of Literature: 7. Our stories, our selves: memoir and self-help in the 'me decade' Nicole Stamant; 8. '(Not just) knee deep': black writing between soul and the mainstream Michael Hill; 9. Green letters in a decade black with ink: American environmental writing in the 1970s Will Elliott; 10. Future shocks: science fiction transformations in the 1970s Robin A. Roberts; 11. Death wishes: crime literature, violence, and detectives in the American 1970s Linda Wagner-Martin; 12. The Great American Novel in the 1970s Tom Perrin; 13. The bestseller and the blockbuster mentality Philip McGowan; 14. 'Do the hustle': showmanship, publicity, and the changing landscape of literary authority Tom Cerasulo; Part III. Cultural Engagements: 15. First to write: the 1970s and the Vietnamese War Alex Vernon; 16. Nixon burning: the anti-establishment turn in 1970s' American political writing David Seed; 17. The maturation of the new journalism in the 1970s Everette E. Dennis; 18. Rock is dead/long live rock: popular music in 1970s American literature Kirk Curnutt; 19. The confessional turn: masculinity and American literary culture in the 1970s James Penner; 20. The feminist 1970s Sam McBean; 21. Blood on the page: the decade gets its period David Linton; Conclusion: keep on truckin' Kirk Curnutt.