Harmon Leon's "American Dream"
Mr. Leon contacted me in 2007 and asked if I wanted to contribute to his book about the American Dream. "A lot of people think being famous is the American Dream," he said, "You got to experience that. I'd like you to write about it for my book."

 

In the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson and Sacha Baron Cohen, social chameleon Harmon Leon takes us on a journey into the savage heart of the American Dream. 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 hand how they see their vision and utopia. His incursions include working as a marijuana farmer in a hippie commune in Northern California; becoming a carnie in rural Indiana; visiting a tourist attraction in Mexico (that allows people to simulate illegally crossing the border); venturing to Hollywood while trying to climb the ranks in the star-making machine; and working in the strawberries fields of California with newly arrived immigrants.

The American Dream is a funny, satirical, and ultimately poignant take on what it means to be an American today.

 

Reviews:

CivilianReader
Sprinkled with serious observations and facts, Leon manages to get across the real nature of all these people; describing the difficulties faced by illegals, for example, but also painting honest portraits of his subjects that both entertain and enlighten... And because Leon doesn't focus solely on the usual subcultures (i.e. Christians), The American Dream will surely have something for anyone interested in reading a little more about the less -'standard' people in America.

Rocky Mountain News
This book will make your sides hurt...A master of disguise - and literary hijinx - Leon satirizes all that's comical and commendable about the American Dream.

Boulder Weekly
In a quasi-democratic, pseudo-caplitalistic society like ours, citizens tend to create extremist subcultures, and Gonzo chameleon Harmon Leon has made a career out of infiltrating those eccentric covens.

The Guardian, UK
This manic mix of Borat and Hunter S Thompson is amusing