Updike wrote each of his Rabbit novels in the year they take place at ten year increments from 1960–1990. The series is a generational study of America told through the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. Each spine of this series is wrapped in bits of Life magazine from the year in which the books were written/take place, and come together to form the American flag. The overall effect is also a metaphor for series itself: mundane pieces of an ordinary man's life that come together through brilliant writing to form a beautiful, cohesive whole that rests on the backbone of Americana.