In this collection of occasional writings and interviews, Percy discusses the role of the novelist, the moral obligations of Christians, the place of Herman Melville in American letters, and why Southerners regard him so highly. Other topics are the mysteries of language and human nature, and the failure of science and psychiatry to penetrate those mysteries. He also covers the nature of faith, and the prevalence of the second-rate in American life and culture. Throughout the book, his focus is on the South though he says in the mocking self-interview "I'm sick and tired of talking about the South and hearing about the South."