Writing the Rapture examines the contours of prophecy fiction from its humble roots in premillennial dispensationalism to its blockbuster success with the Left Behind series. While the book focuses on pivotal moments in the genre's history, Gribben explains that the book “is not a history of a discrete genre, but an account of the most important elements of contemporary evangelical prophecy belief and a description of an increasingly important element of the American cultural mainstream” (167). Gribben's study provides readers with a thorough and nuanced entry into this literary world filled with various rapture scenarios, tribulation theories, and second chance theologies. Less clear in this examination is the relationship between prophecy fiction, evangelicalism, and American culture. Questions about how and why evangelicals (past and present) read fiction and how this relationship has changed over time remain unexplored. Further, the author's argument for the mainstreaming of prophecy fiction with Left Behind leaves one wanting more. The topic garners only fifteen pages and exactly how these books have “propelled a series of evangelical social concerns to the center of public consciousness” (135) is vague and unclear. The book's main contributions are in Gribben's treatment of this literature's early history, his attention to its theological diversity, and his analysis of recurring literary themes such as racism and anti-Catholicism.