American Oz

An Astonishing Year Inside Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals: Hitchhiking from California to New York, Alaska to Mexico

By: Michael Sean Comerford

Narrated by: Michael Sean Comerford

The world runs on untold stories.

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 insulted 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 number one 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.

Comerford finds carnival people seeking meaning and love in their lives, and the answers always seem to be somewhere down the road.

©2020 Michael Sean Comerford (P)2021 Michael Sesan Comerford

PITTY IS IN ORDER

An expose' about the hardest working, lowest paid, often cheated and mistreated people that you can say are working stiffs.
If there was a caste system in this part of the world these hard working, often addicted, injured and without medical care people
are the lowest rung of the ladder. No, I take that back they are on the dirt, or in the mud under the ladder.
The writer hitchhiked ate with, slept along side, and worked along side these working people for a year while surreptitiously interviewing them and writing down their stories. I really enjoyed the eye-opening and eyepopping entry into to their lives.

Great book!

This was a well-written and thoughtful look at the American carnival industry. The author definitely writes like the award winning journalist that he is, definitely worth the read!!!

Great story by an interesting person

I found this book after reading an article in the Chicago Tribune. Man, am I glad I did.

The author/narrator is so positive and energetic, yet it is easy to feel the darker imagery of the back story of the carnies he meets.

He is so worldly and intelligent that I found it easy to consider his remarks on the many subjects covered in this book.

I would recommend this to anyone with the desire to learn about human behavior and anyone who loves a good journey story.

I feel like I learned something and like I have more empathy for others. That’s no small feat for a book about a guy hitchhiking to carnivals.

It never slows down

Story keeps flowing from beginning to end. I can still feel the bed bugs biting & the smell of cotton candy.

Great book!

Had an awesome book club with the author on Zoom. It was so great! Made me love the book even more. The stories and experiences are like no other. You must check it out.