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A review by karenleagermain
Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier by Hampton Sides
5.0
My Friend Nicole passed this book my way and it was absolutely fantastic. Hampton Side’s “Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier” is comprised of thirty chapters, each reflecting on a different American subculture or perspective. The stories each vary drastically in tone, some taking more of a travel writer feel and some hardcore journalism.
As with all collections, some pieces are bound to be more interesting than others, but I really don’t think that there was a low point in this book. The book has several highlights. In particular, I enjoyed “Waiting for Liddy”, “Sisters of the Bowl” and “This is Not the Place.” A majority of the chapters really made me envious of Sides and it made me want to sell everything, buy an airstream trailer and hit the road. America is fascinating!
The best piece was “Points of Impact” which was the perspective of three World Trade Center survivors. It was completely affecting and absorbing. I can’t imagine that anyone would be able to read that chapter with a dry eye and without feeling completely lucky.
I can’t praise this book enough and look forward to reading more of Hampton Sides.
As with all collections, some pieces are bound to be more interesting than others, but I really don’t think that there was a low point in this book. The book has several highlights. In particular, I enjoyed “Waiting for Liddy”, “Sisters of the Bowl” and “This is Not the Place.” A majority of the chapters really made me envious of Sides and it made me want to sell everything, buy an airstream trailer and hit the road. America is fascinating!
The best piece was “Points of Impact” which was the perspective of three World Trade Center survivors. It was completely affecting and absorbing. I can’t imagine that anyone would be able to read that chapter with a dry eye and without feeling completely lucky.
I can’t praise this book enough and look forward to reading more of Hampton Sides.