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"Before you know it as the years go by, you're just like other people you have seen, with all those peculiar human ailments. Just another vehicle for temper and vanity and rashness and all the rest. Who wants it? Who needs it? These things occupy the place where a man's soul should be." -- Henderson the Rain King

Monday, March 26, 2007

US Guys

Book #9 was New York Times correspondant Charlie LeDuff's US Guys: The True and Twisted Mind of the American Man.

US Guys is a collection of stories based on LeDuff's experience as an immersive journalist a la Hunter S. Thompson or George Plimpton. LeDuff embarks on a series of adventures loosely constructed around finding the heart of what it means to be a real American man in today's society. LeDuff's writing is enjoyable, but the fascinating series of topics here is the highlight. The stories include:

  • Tulsa, OK - Charley Murphy (no not that Charlie Murphy) and the hunt for Pretty Boy Floyd's getaway driver's hidden stash
  • Oklahoma City, OK - The gay rodeo
  • Amarillo, TX - Trying out for the Arena Football 2 league (which include local boys the Everett Hawks).
  • Oakland, CA - Fight Club with a motorcycle gang!! Yeah!
  • Black Rock City, NV - Debunking Burning Man
  • Coos Bay, OR - Performing as a circus clown
  • Crow Agency, MT - Re-enacting Little Big Horn
  • Detroit, MI - Investigating a murder in 8-mile
  • New York, NY - Becoming a male model during Fashion Week (think Bruno)
  • Cleveland, TN - Inside a Pentecostal church (think Borat)
  • Miami, FL - Betting with old dudes at a horse track

Much of what's in the book was also film for Only In America, which in theory runs on the Discovery Times network though I've yet to find them actually airing an episode. Anyone ever see it or know if it's still on?

RIYL: Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction

Metacritic reviews


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posted by Jamie at 11:52 PM