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

by Harmon Leon

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568583524
• ISBN13: 9781568583525
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Bold Type Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Grade A!

Leon's shtick is to adopt a persona and "infiltrate" unsuspecting organizations by posing as a potential member - with madcap results. In past outings, Leon has worked as a bounty hunter, dined with white supremacists, partied with Promise Keepers and even co-hosted a DVD prank show with O.J. Simpson. Here, Leon rubs elbows with folks in search of the American Dream, be it carnival workers in the Midwest, pot farmers in northern California, would-be immigrants in Mexico and suburban swingers. He even gets outed - for the first time in his career - at a celebrity impersonator convention, proving that it takes a fake to spot a fake. Beneath all the humor is a human touch. While mocking the absurdity of particular groups and situations, Leon's writing shows a fondness or at least appreciation for his subjects, be they fundamentalist Christians or carnies running the ring toss. He even lets his targets have their say, introducing each chapter with an essay from a member of the community he's infiltrated-including one penned by Boulder-based Ozzy Osbourne impersonator Don Wrege. Best tidbit: Leon's 10-page account of his appearance on the television show Blind Date, which involved heavy doses of public intoxication and lederhosen. (Hilarious footage of this is available on YouTube.) Pros: This book will make your sides hurt. Cons: The personal essays from Leon's targets disrupt the comic momentum without adding much to the final product. Final word: A master of disguise - and literary hijinx - Leon satirizes all that's comical and commendable about the American Dream