American Oz
An Astonishing Year Inside Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals: Hitchhiking from California to New York, Alaska to Mexico
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Narrated by:
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Michael Sean Comerford
About this listen
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 ComerfordListeners also enjoyed...
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The Detective in the Dooryard
- Reflections of a Maine Cop
- By: Timothy A. Cotton
- Narrated by: Timothy A. Cotton
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Tim Cotton has been a police officer for more than 30 years. The writer in him has always been drawn to the stories of the people he has met along the way. Dealing with the standard issue ne’er-do-wells as a patrol officer, homicide detective, polygraph examiner, and later as the lieutenant in charge of the criminal investigation division certainly provides an interesting backdrop - but more often he writes about the regular folks he encounters, people who need his help, or those who just want to share a joke or even a sad story.
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The small stories are the important stories
- By Hilary A Harston on 02-14-21
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This Love Is Not for Cowards
- Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez
- By: Robert Andrew Powell
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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As Mexico has descended into a feudal narco-state - one where cartels, death squads, the army, and local police all fight over billions of dollars in profits from drug and human trafficking - the border city of Jurez has been hit hardest of all. And yet, more than a million people still live there. They even love their impoverished city, proudly repeating its mantra: "Amor por Jurez." Nothing exemplifies the spirit and hope of Juarenses more than the Indios, the city's beloved but hard-luck soccer team.
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Loved it
- By Nathan & Kira Huggins on 04-14-15
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The Undocumented Americans
- By: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
- Narrated by: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. It was right after the election of 2016, the day she realized the story she'd tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she wrote her immigration lawyer's phone number on her hand in Sharpie and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants—and to find the hidden key to her own.
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Raw, heartbreaking - we can do better by others
- By RapaciousReader on 04-11-20
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West of the West
- Dreamers, Believers, Builders, and Killers in the Golden State
- By: Mark Arax
- Narrated by: Mark Arax
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Teddy Roosevelt once exclaimed, "When I am in California, I am not in the West. I am west of the West", and in this book, Mark Arax spends four years travelling up and down the Golden State to explore its singular place in the world. This is California beyond the clichés. This is California as only a native son, deep in the dust, could draw it.
By: Mark Arax
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This Might Get a Little Heavy
- A Memoir
- By: Ralphie May, Nils Parker
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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There was a time when Ralphie May was one of the biggest stand-up comedians in the country, both by ticket sales and by tonnage. While some things changed - Ralphie lost half his body weight - others did not: He will be remembered as one of the most successful comics of his time. Completed just months before his untimely passing, in This Might Get a Little Heavy, Ralphie takes listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of his life and career, one that winds across the country, over obstacles, beyond heartbreak, and through the golden age of stand-up.
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brilliant and tragic
- By Timothy Trujillo on 08-12-18
By: Ralphie May, and others
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Is That Thing Diesel?
- By: Paul Carter
- Narrated by: Paul Carter
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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At forty years old, a successful writer, husband and father, no longer toiling on offshore drilling rigs, was Paul Carter happily nestled in the cotton wool of suburban life enjoying the fruits of his labour? Was he f**k! With his manic life left far behind and the perfect opportunity to take it easy stretched before him what else would a middle-aged, bike obsessed, man want? Yes, that's right, he'd want to be the first guy to ride around Australia on an underpowered experimental motorcycle that runs on used cooking oil, wouldn't he? Preferably without getting hit by a semi-trailer full of bridge parts.
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Another hit for Paul Carter
- By As happy as a monkey with two bananas in his hands on 06-11-14
By: Paul Carter
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Digging Up Mother
- A Love Story
- By: Johnny Depp - foreword, Doug Stanhope
- Narrated by: Doug Stanhope and Friends
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Doug Stanhope is one of the most critically acclaimed and stridently unrepentant comedians of his generation. What will surprise some is that he owes so much of his dark and sometimes uncomfortably honest sense of humor to his mother, Bonnie.
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Not my thing.
- By J. Harral on 01-27-18
By: Johnny Depp - foreword, and others
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Twentynine Palms
- A True Story of Murder, Marines, and the Mojave
- By: Deanne Stillman
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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August 2, 1991, Twentynine Palms, California: a troubled Marine who has recently returned from the Gulf War savagely murders two young girls. One was about to turn 16, the other 21. Exquisitely and inexorably, Deanne Stillman uses this tragedy as a prism through which she examines a rootless culture of fatherless families, shattered dreams, and relentless violence. She also traces the family histories of each murder victim back for generations, in one case to the Donner Party and the other to a shack in the Philippines.
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Ugh...
- By Ashley on 11-03-20
By: Deanne Stillman
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Be a Man
- The Ultimate Guide
- By: The Be a Man Guy
- Narrated by: The Be a Man Guy, John Fiore
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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On Tik Tok, Instagram, and his podcast, The Be a Man Guy discusses what it takes to be a man. Now, this funny and insightful book showcases all new stories, vignettes, anecdotes, and pearls of wisdom.
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I didn't find much lasting value.
- By I Ate Your Pug For Lunch and It was Tasty on 07-07-23
By: The Be a Man Guy
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Nigger
- An Autobiography
- By: Dick Gregory, Dr. Christian Gregory - introduction, Robert Lipsyte
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Dr. Christian Gregory
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty-five years ago, in 1964, an incredibly honest and revealing memoir by one of the America's best-loved comedians and activists, Dick Gregory, was published. With a shocking title and breathtaking writing, Dick Gregory defined a genre and changed the way race was discussed in America.
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PLEASE don't pass this book up!
- By D on 05-06-20
By: Dick Gregory, and others
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Florida Roadkill
- By: Tim Dorsey
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Sunshine State trivia buff Serge A. Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, especially when purchased with rich dead men's money. On the other hand, there's Sean and David, who love fishing and are kind to animals - and who are about to cross paths with a suitcase filled with $5 million in stolen insurance money. Serge wants the suitcase. Sharon wants the suitcase. Coleman wants more drugs... and the suitcase.
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Its a Mad Mad Mad Florida!
- By Mark on 09-26-11
By: Tim Dorsey
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We Begin at the End
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Duchess Day Radley is a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids. Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.
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Horrible narrator in this audible book
- By M. patton on 03-03-21
By: Chris Whitaker
What listeners say about American Oz
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Inez
- 06-08-22
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- DCDoug
- 08-23-21
Delightful adventure into the carnival world!
What a delightful tour of the eccentric world of carnies! An incredible adventure for the author and a treat for the rest of us to experience it through his eyes. Read this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lindsay Sheffield
- 02-27-21
great book
with it for it! it's a life not a job he did a real nice job in keeping the secrets a secret
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1 person found this helpful
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- stewart l. goldstein
- 01-28-22
An American Odyssey
The culture of carnivals is something that interests me, so when I came across this book I thought it would scratch that itch. An incredible story of one man's incredible journey across America one carnival at a time. Great stories, intriguing characters, funny and touching. What sets this title apart is the narrator, with a style that was made for the midway, his energy draws you into this captivating tale of the nomadic, carnival life.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-11-21
It never slows down
Story keeps flowing from beginning to end. I can still feel the bed bugs biting & the smell of cotton candy.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-11-21
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.
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- Kim Kipp
- 09-23-21
A Fun Ride!
Mr. Cumerford has written a very interesting, honest, gritty portrayal of his travels from "California to NewYork, Alaska to Mexico". The author's clear interest in the people he met and the stories he heard from within the traveling carnivals lead to a fascinating collection of tales. Very Interesting! Through his extensive traveling covering vastly different portions of the US, the feel of the carnivals changed with the geographics, as the locals defined the culture of the carnival. I am a travel junkie and glad I went on this adventure!
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- Leland Grooms
- 04-26-22
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!!!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jon
- 06-18-21
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.
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- Tim Blackburn
- 05-26-22
Fun Listen
What an entertaining and fun listen. The author read the book which is always more interesting to me. Michael is an enthusiastic narrator and makes the reader feel a part of the action. I pass our county fairgrounds each day to and from work - for the past 36 years. Then the one magical week in September always makes me yearn for the carnival life. Michael allows us to do that vicariously through this engrossing book. I was truly sad to reach the end and that's rare for me. So I won't ruin your enjoyment of listening to Michael spin his stories of his year living the roaming carnival life. I strongly recommend this highly entertaining audiobook!!
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2 people found this helpful