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Guests | June 17, 2013

Jami Attenberg: IMG On Sharing Works in Progress and Outlining

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Note: Please join Jami Attenberg at Powell's City of Books on Wednesday, June 26, for an in-store reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by a reading at... Continue »
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    The Middlesteins

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1 Burnside American Studies- 80s to Present

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The American Dream: Walking in the Shoes of Carnies, Arms Dealers, Immigrant Dreamers, Pot Farmers, and Christian Believers

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The American Dream: Walking in the Shoes of Carnies, Arms Dealers, Immigrant Dreamers, Pot Farmers, and Christian Believers Cover

ISBN13: 9781568583525
ISBN10: 1568583524
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

For some, the American Dream is a pre-fab house in the suburbs with 2.5 kids and a two-week vacation at the end of the year. To others, it is working a push fruit cart in Oakland in order to put food on the family's table in Oaxaca.

In The American Dream, Harmon Leon draws upon his experiences of adopting personas and disguises to infiltrate the various institutions of everyday life, living among a diverse range of subcultures and learning first hand how they see their vision and utopia. His incursions include working as a marijuana farmer in a hippie commune in Northern California; becoming a carnie in rural Indiana; visiting a tourist attraction in Mexico (that allows people to simulate illegally crossing the border); venturing to Hollywood while trying to climb the ranks in the star-making machine; and working in the strawberries fields of California with newly arrived immigrants. The American Dream is a funny, satirical, and ultimately poignant take on what it means to be an American today.

Synopsis:

In the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson and Sacha Baron Cohen, social chameleon Harmon Leon takes us on a journey into the savage heart of the American Dream.

Synopsis:

Leon draws upon his experiences of adopting personas and disguises to infiltrate the various institutions of everyday life, which he chronicles in this work that is a funny, satirical, and ultimately poignant take on what it means to be an American today.
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About the Author

Harmon Leon is a comedian and an award-winning author, most recently of National Lampoon's Road Trip USA, a travel book commemorating the 25th anniversary of the original Vacation movie. He lives in San Francisco.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
wescoat, December 4, 2008 (view all comments by wescoat)
I read Leon's first book, The Harmon Chronicles, in 2003, enjoying it very much. Back then, Leon was more prank-oriented and the pranks were very funny, like bringing a sock puppet named Mr. Cocksucker to a ventriloquism conference. He still has decent verbal comic timing, but he's no longer very conceptual, preferring now to simply mock subjects, who are generally too naïve, un-ironic, or uneducated to know any better. While "infiltrating" a celebrity impersonators' gathering, he does jump-kicks under a blond Austin Powers wig that barely hides his white-person dreadlocks. On the reality TV show Blind Date, he shows up wearing lederhosen. Naturally, Leon earns certain, sometimes amusing reactions from such behavior, but his shenanigans also send a clear message: The focus of American Dream is the crrraziness of its author, not probing insights into the lives of its unknowing participants.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781568583525
Author:
Leon, Harmon
Publisher:
Nation Books
Subject:
Popular Culture - General
Subject:
General Social Science
Subject:
Popular Culture
Subject:
Civilization
Subject:
Anthropology - Cultural
Subject:
General
Subject:
General Humor
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
Form - Essays
Subject:
United States Civilization 1970-
Subject:
Popular culture -- United States.
Subject:
Sociology - General
Copyright:
2008
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
20081031
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.5 in 8.5 oz
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Related Subjects

Arts and Entertainment » Humor » Anthologies
Health and Self-Help » Psychology » General
History and Social Science » American Studies » 80s to Present
History and Social Science » Social Science » Essays
History and Social Science » Sociology » General
Metaphysics » General

The American Dream: Walking in the Shoes of Carnies, Arms Dealers, Immigrant Dreamers, Pot Farmers, and Christian Believers Used Trade Paper
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$5.50 In Stock
Product details 304 pages Nation Books - English 9781568583525 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , In the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson and Sacha Baron Cohen, social chameleon Harmon Leon takes us on a journey into the savage heart of the American Dream.
"Synopsis" by , Leon draws upon his experiences of adopting personas and disguises to infiltrate the various institutions of everyday life, which he chronicles in this work that is a funny, satirical, and ultimately poignant take on what it means to be an American today.
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