Kirby Farrell is Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His first book, Shakespeare's Creation (1975), analyzed the successes and failures of "magical thinking" to induce wonder and creativity in Shakespeare. It displayed a deep knowledge of Shakespeare, Renaissance history, and modern theories of aesthetic play (e.g., those of J. Huizinga and C. L. Barber). In his latest book, Farrell returns to the theme of play, but this time his glass is darker.

The book demonstrates how modes of "play-death," such as games of death or rituals of resurrection, provide simultaneous developmental, social, and aesthetic defenses to manage anxious