Bob Batchelor is James Pedas Professor of Communication and executive director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College. A noted cultural historian and biographer, Batchelor is the author or editor of twenty-four books, including John Updike: A Critical Biography. He is the founding editor of the Popular Culture Studies Journal, published by the Midwest Popular Culture / American Culture Association and a member of the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Popular Culture and the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning. He serves as director of marketing and media for The John Updike Childhood Home Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania. Visit him on the web at www.bobbatchelor.com.