"We nourish our faith in myth by an observation of ritual. Winningham, who records our participation in some of these sustaining rites, has given us pictures that are remarkable equally for their clarity and kindness; they demonstrate the truth of Jacque Maritain's suggestion that "art is a virtue like friendship." The events upon which Winningham concentrates are usually dismissed as popular entertainment. And yet, of course, rodeos celebrate a bashful, stringy individualism that we like to think of as  American, wrestling matches give us a chance to safely heckle evil, and  senior proms hold out the chance of escaping forever, suited in style, our ungainly adolescence."