Mass-Market Fiction and the Crisis of American Liberalism, 1972–2017

Michael J. Blouin is Associate Professor of English and the Humanities at Milligan College, USA. His research interests include critical theory and popular culture. He is author of Magical Thinking, Fantastic Film, and the Illusions of Neoliberalism (Palgrave 2016) as well as a recent guest editor for a special issue of The Journal of Popular Culture entitled “Neoliberalism and Popular Culture” (April 2018).

• 1. Introduction: Popular Paperbacks and the Transformation of American Liberalism.- 2. The Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic of Mass-Market Fiction.- 3. Danielle Steel and New Home Economics.- 4. Michael Crichton and the Heritage of Invention.- 5. Tom Clancy and the Liberal Family Tree.- 6. John Grisham and the New Economy Thriller.- 7. Dean Koontz and the Problem with Power.