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American OZ: An Astonishing Year in Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals: Hitchhiking From California to New York, Alaska to Mexico
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About American OZ: An Astonishing Year In Traveling
Product Description "American OZ Pulls Back the Curtain on Carnival Life to Show Us Ourselves," WindyCity/BookTrib Review American Oz is a rollicking, gritty, adventurous story of life in the secretive subculture of traveling carnivals. You'll never see your state fair or street festival the same way again. Comerford writes a bold, inspiring true story of a year working behind the scenes with the colorful characters and legends of carnivals. He shares stories of freaks, a carnival pimp, a tramp gold miner, and the last King of the Sideshows. An insult dunk tank clown is shot. Masked gunmen rob his carnival. And a young showman friend dies on the road. It's a new classic American road story as he hitchhikes to shows in California, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Alaska, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, and Florida where he works in a freak show. He becomes the #1 hitchhiker in the USA and a top agent at the State Fair of Texas. He travels to the lawless foothills of Mexico to see the new face of the American carny. He exposes the truths about immigration, labor abuse, and living between two worlds. American OZ is being called "lyrical journalism" and "full of deep observations about life." Enjoy the ride yet the deeper you read the more you'll see. Comerford finds people practicing the art of making other people happy while seeking love and meaning in their own lives on the road. "Brilliant!" writes the Chicago Tribune. Review " Reminiscent of ... the gritty writings of Studs Terkel and John Steinbeck, with a dash of Jack Kerouac, Tony Horwitz, and even Hunter S. Thompson thrown in, AMERICAN OZwill take you on the adventure of a lifetime. It will kick your COVID blues." -- Historian, educator, Stephen Reddick " A Modern Day Odysseus ... Comerford has wondered the world, mingles with misfits and millionaires, and vows to keep looking even if the most astonishing stories are his own."--Front Page Banner Story - Daily Herald, By Columnist Burt Constable " A remarkable book, colorful, lively and filled with a cast of characters that would do a Fellini movie justice."-- Front Page - Arts + Entertainment section - Chicago Tribune, By Columnist Rick Kogan " A Brilliant Book."-- WGN-720 AM Radio " American OZ is an American Masterpiece."-- Author Kerry Lavelle, Lavelle Law Ltd. " This book is like a modern day classic. Well written, inspirational, entertaining and sometimes melancholic, sometimes magical and whimsical. Always powerful. A great read."-- Bestselling author Dr. Carissa Alinat " Comerford was not so naive or ultimately as frail in purpose as the peripatetic McCandless (featured in the book Into the Wild, John Krakauer) ... (Comerford) is a writer seeking some form of truth."-- GenesisFix " Comerford's insights, distilled from his genuine interest in the people he meets, leads to the most valued prize of all-- the truth."-- Kirby A., Ph.D. English " Captivating from the start ... A Spectacular Book."-- Jim Mitchell, Mitchell Marketing Management " Echoes of Steinbeck are heard in this work as the common folk are exalted for their labor and working conditions. The triumph of the common folk is evident on every page. Thank you for displaying the triumphs in the human condition."-- Lester Moore, reviewer " In truth, this page-turning gem reads like a movie - or probably more like a Netflix series. It is told with compassion, tenderness as well as muckraking grit ... Unforgettable characters."-- Matt Baron, Inside Edge PR, former freelancer Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Time " Having been born and raised in the carnival business, I found it to be an extremely authentic look behind the curtain. When the lights go off, you are escorted through the real life world of traveling carnivals and the people who move them."-- Dave Galyon. His brothers Donnie and Ronnie Galyon were conjoined twins with their own carnival exhibition. From the Author American OZ is about a "year" in traveling carnivals yet
