"[Bacon] convincingly demonstrates that the Cold War ethos of the 1950s was the milieu amidst which and against which Flannery O'Connor defined herself and her work...[A] suggestive and valuable book..." Ralph C. Wood, Religion & Literature "From time to time, in fact, one hears that there has been too much criticism written about O'Connor. Reading Jon Lance Bacon's new study of O'Connor, however, makes one feel that O'Connor's mysteries are inexhaustible...Bacon deserves substantial credit for making us aware how thoroughly O'Connor's works can be read as responses to the social issues of her day. Bacon provides a wealth of background material on Cold War culture (including reprints of numerous illustrations from popular media) and explains the ways in which we may begin to reread O'Connor in this fresh context...[A]ny teacher or student of O'Connor's works should be enlightened and inspired by Bacon's approach. Through Bacon's lenses, O'Connor maintains her magical power while also coming to seem a less marginal figure than before." Marshall Bruce Gentry, Studies in Short Fiction "...a fascinating and provocative reading...Flannery O'Connor and Cold War Culture stands as one of the most exciting and original books on O'Connor in recent years." Robert H. Brinkmeyer, Jr., Journal of American Studies "Jon Lance Bacon's 'Flannery O'Connor and Cold War Culture' is no disappointment, for it indeed provides a new and revealing approach to O'Connor, one that focuses predominantly on the social contexts out of which her work evolved, particularly the discourses of the cold war." Will Brantley, Contemporary Literature