Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
Flip to back
Flip to front
Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier Paperback – April 13, 2004
$10.21
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Start reading Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier on your Kindle in under a minute.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?.
|
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
With an admitted lack of certainty about what America "means," Sides nonetheless has amassed a collection of articles and essays that capture the country's elusive qualities, noting that America, supremely confident, has run out of geographical space and is now venturing into new social frontiers. In the collection of 30 stories, Sides illustrates the amazing breadth and depth of American preoccupations and idiosyncrasies. He gate-crashes the ultra-exclusive, conservative Bohemian Grove resort in California and then chronicles a rafting party for the human-engineered flooding of the Grand Canyon, the reentry ceremony for Biosphere 2 in Arizona, and the anything-goes weekends in the California desert. He profiles an array of individuals, from Native American radical Russell Means to extreme skateboarder Tony Hawk. In a section on post-9/11 America, Sides profiles three survivors of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and explains his decision not to embed himself as a journalist in Iraq. With an eye for detail and the absurd, Sides, author of the highly acclaimed Ghost Soldiers (2001), presents a vivid portrait of the restlessness and inventiveness of Americans. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“This may be the best road trip you’ll ever take—full of strange vision, hilarious detours, and sudden beauty in unlikely places.” –Burkhard Bilger, staff writer at The New Yorker
“’The ancient boyhood impulse to Get In,’ as Hampton Sides puts it, fuels this rollicking book. An entertaining investigative trek through parts both familiar and strange.” –Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead
“Hampton Sides’s America is a flabbergasting place. Funny but never at the expense of his subjects, wise but not wiseass, Sides seeks out decidedly non-average Americans who dig themselves deep into things.” –Mary Roach, author of Stiff
“This is a dream adventure you’ll likely never get; fortunately, Sides has been there. Wry, exuberant, and always compassionate, Americana is pure pleasure.” –Doug Stanton, author of In Harm’s Way
“Inside this riveting collection we find a country of hotly competing tribes encamped on the headlands of a still undefinable frontier. These incisive and often humorous stores comprise the vanguard of a new literature about America and its vast complexities.” –Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert
“’The ancient boyhood impulse to Get In,’ as Hampton Sides puts it, fuels this rollicking book. An entertaining investigative trek through parts both familiar and strange.” –Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead
“Hampton Sides’s America is a flabbergasting place. Funny but never at the expense of his subjects, wise but not wiseass, Sides seeks out decidedly non-average Americans who dig themselves deep into things.” –Mary Roach, author of Stiff
“This is a dream adventure you’ll likely never get; fortunately, Sides has been there. Wry, exuberant, and always compassionate, Americana is pure pleasure.” –Doug Stanton, author of In Harm’s Way
“Inside this riveting collection we find a country of hotly competing tribes encamped on the headlands of a still undefinable frontier. These incisive and often humorous stores comprise the vanguard of a new literature about America and its vast complexities.” –Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert
More About the Author
A native of Memphis, HAMPTON SIDES is editor-at-large for Outside magazine and the author of the international bestseller Ghost Soldiers, which was the basis for the 2005 Miramax film The Great Raid. Ghost Soldiers won the 2002 PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes & Noble, and his magazine work has been twice nominated for National Magazine Awards for feature writing. Hampton is also the author of Americana and Stomping Grounds. A graduate of Yale with a B.A. in history, he lives in New Mexico with his wife, Anne, and their three sons.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By
R. S Welch
on July 31, 2004
Format: Paperback
Comment
Sending feedback...
As a newspaper columnist for The Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore., I loath the well-written but poorly reported essay. That's why I'm so anxious to endorse Sides' "Americana," which is, to be blunt, the best collection of essays on beyond-the-press-conference America I've ever read. Sides is not only a master of language - "they survey the scene with frozen smiles, like old-time Kremlin leaders on a reviewing stand" - but an observer extraordinaire. What makes his pieces shine is his incredible attention to detail, his not only seeing the aging band Steppenwolf at the Harley gathering, but REALLY seeing them: "haggard dinosaurs with tubercular-blue skin, their scaly forms mailed in black leather." From bikers to Tupperware women, from skate boarders to national spelling bees, Sides shows us an America that you won't always find on prime time. And does so with an open mind, an insatiable curiosity and a keen wit. But what places the book at the forefront of such collections is two last-chapter essays - "Point of Impact," about 9/11 and "First," about the war in Iraq. Sides' humor is delicious, but when he gets serious, as he does for these two pieces, he can tell a gripping story like few other American writers. If you want to better understand Americans - and treat yourself to uncommonly great writing in the process - "Americana" is for you.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By
Bill Staley
on June 25, 2004
Format: Paperback
Comment
Sending feedback...
These are magazine stories, mostly from Outside magazine and mostly enjoyable and well crafted. His best by far is "Point of Impact," about 9/11. Hair-raising, heart-breaking and impossible to forget, for better or worse. Had to put this one down a couple of times. Overwhelmed, grossed out, choked up. It would not be a bad idea to read it on every anniversary. "First," about the war in Iraq, is also memorable. An early article, "Murder in Falkner," gets under your skin, too. It would be a decent read without these, so it adds up to a better than average collection.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
Walter H. Pierce
on November 29, 2009
Format: Paperback
Comment
Sending feedback...
Americana by Hampton Sides is easy to read and interesting. The volume is composed of 30 short, non-fiction, people pieces. Each article offers a snippet of the kaleidoscope of the American character. Sides has a talent at choosing intriguing topics. Some of the topics are satirical, but, not with malice. Sides seems to attempt to bring understanding to each of the pieces by including lots of interesting facts. One piece, for example, on spelling bees and modern spelling contests includes a whole host of information on why the English language presents such spelling difficulties, and why English English and American English have evolved differently.
Some of the topics are of a more realistic bent. One, on the first American death in the second Iraq war and another portraying the impact of the 9/11 - Twin Towers collapse on several individuals are some of the best prose pieces I have read. For just plain writing fun and humor, two of my favorite pieces characterize the annual "Hog" motorcycle conflagration at Sturgis, South Dakota; and Biosphere 2 in Arizona, at the two-year exit. Taken in aggregate these diverse glimpses of America portray the individualism of America. Sides choses two words to integrate these individual stories of American character: confidence and openness.
Read this book. I think you will enjoy it.
Some of the topics are of a more realistic bent. One, on the first American death in the second Iraq war and another portraying the impact of the 9/11 - Twin Towers collapse on several individuals are some of the best prose pieces I have read. For just plain writing fun and humor, two of my favorite pieces characterize the annual "Hog" motorcycle conflagration at Sturgis, South Dakota; and Biosphere 2 in Arizona, at the two-year exit. Taken in aggregate these diverse glimpses of America portray the individualism of America. Sides choses two words to integrate these individual stories of American character: confidence and openness.
Read this book. I think you will enjoy it.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
Wayne A. Smith
VINE VOICE on December 19, 2011
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
Hampton Sides is an excellent writer and story teller. He also is very good with widely divergent topics as witnessed by his excellent "Ghost Soldiers" and "Blood and Thunder". In this book, "Americana", Sides the magazine reporter offers a compelling collection of stories that display some of the wide and ranging interests that define America in our day.
The reader will ride the Iditarod Trail and skateboards in two of the essays - the first exploring a celebration of the last frontier in America and the latter the phenomenon of Tony Hawk.
Readers will also explore the national spelling bee, the earth travelers who inhabited Biosphere (remember that?), Pentecostal worshipers and more somber topics like 9-11 survivors and a Marine hero killed in Iraq.
Bass fishing, a secret conclave of powerful men who meet in the woods and the Sturgis Harley-Davidson meet up are delved into along with numerous other pictures of "Americana."
Although this book is unlike Ghost Soldiers or Blood and Thunder in that it is a collection of discreet portraits and not a single story, the essays are fascinating and Sides handles them well. Some of those covered will strike readers as "off their rockers" but the author never belittles nor humiliates those who people his writings. He just tells well-crafted stories and gives the characters time and space to reveal their passion and interest in the topic at hand. Sides is an excellent storyteller and anyone interested in delving into some of the edges of this nation will appreciate his collection.
The reader will ride the Iditarod Trail and skateboards in two of the essays - the first exploring a celebration of the last frontier in America and the latter the phenomenon of Tony Hawk.
Readers will also explore the national spelling bee, the earth travelers who inhabited Biosphere (remember that?), Pentecostal worshipers and more somber topics like 9-11 survivors and a Marine hero killed in Iraq.
Bass fishing, a secret conclave of powerful men who meet in the woods and the Sturgis Harley-Davidson meet up are delved into along with numerous other pictures of "Americana."
Although this book is unlike Ghost Soldiers or Blood and Thunder in that it is a collection of discreet portraits and not a single story, the essays are fascinating and Sides handles them well. Some of those covered will strike readers as "off their rockers" but the author never belittles nor humiliates those who people his writings. He just tells well-crafted stories and gives the characters time and space to reveal their passion and interest in the topic at hand. Sides is an excellent storyteller and anyone interested in delving into some of the edges of this nation will appreciate his collection.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
B. Centre
on February 6, 2007
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
This is the third book by Hampton Sides I have read. I absolutly loved it!
Indepth insights into American subcultures, personalities, locations and events conveyed in masterful color and detail. Humor, pathos, irony, Sides elicits the full gamut of emotions. From the first page to the last, pure genius.
Sides has become my favorite author. Can't wait for his next book.
Indepth insights into American subcultures, personalities, locations and events conveyed in masterful color and detail. Humor, pathos, irony, Sides elicits the full gamut of emotions. From the first page to the last, pure genius.
Sides has become my favorite author. Can't wait for his next book.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Most Recent Customer Reviews
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
