The Guide to 
United States Popular Culture

Edited by Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne

Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 2001

This is a great reference book about major figures, trends and moments in American popular culture.

I wrote the essays on Hunter S, Thompson and Tom Wolfe. (No surprise there.)

Here are some comments about the book from pop-culture scholars:

“To understand the history and spirit of America, one must know its wars, its laws, and its presidents. To really understand it, however, one must also know its cheeseburgers, its love songs, and its lawn ornaments. The long-awaited Guide to the United States Popular Culture provides a single-volume guide to the landscape of everyday life in the United States. Scholars, students, and researchers will find in it a valuable tool with which to fill in the gaps left by traditional history. All American readers will find in it, one entry at a time, the story of their lives.”—Robert Thompson, President, Popular Culture Association.

“At long last popular culture may indeed be given its due within the humanities with the publication of The Guide to United States Popular Culture. With its nearly 1600 entries, it promises to be the most comprehensive single-volume source of information about popular culture. The range of subjects and diversity of opinions represented will make this an almost indispensable resource for humanities and popular culture scholars and enthusiasts alike.”—Timothy E. Scheurer, President, American Culture Association

“The popular culture of the United States is as free-wheeling and complex as the society it animates. To understand it, one needs assistance. Now that explanatory road map is provided in this Guide which charts the movements and people involved and provides a light at the end of the rainbow of dreams and expectations.”—Marshall W. Fishwick, Past President, Popular Culture Association