Since Barbara Kingsolver published The Bean Trees in 1988 her work has been of great interest to readers--first American readers; then British and South African readers; and finally to readers the world over. With incredible speed Kingsolver became one of the best-known United States writers a person who collected honors and awards as if she were a much more mature literary producer. From the beginning Kingsolver touched an elbow of keen interest in her readers: hers was the voice of world awareness a conscientious voice that demanded attention for the narratives of the disadvantaged the politically troubled the humanly silenced. By paying special attention to her non-fiction (essays and books) this new study by renowned literary critic Linda Wagner-Martin highlights the way Kingsolver has become a kind of public intellectual particularly in the 21st century. It provides fresh readings of each of her novels stories and poems.