false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171236277m/91860.jpg 91860 6 Susan Orlean, <I>New Yorker</I> staff writer and author of <I>The Orchid Thief</I>, has always been drawn to the extraordinary in the ordinary, so when her <I>Esquire</I> editor asked her to profile the child actor Macaulay Culkin using the title "The American Man at Age Ten," she insisted instead on writing about a "typical" kid. The result--one of the 20 profiles drawn from magazines such as <I>Esquire</I>, <I>The New Yorker</I>, and <I>Rolling Stone</I> for this collection--is a vivid window into the life of an ordinary and endearing boy from New Jersey who grapples with girls, environmental destruction, and the magical childhood landscape "that erodes from memory a little bit every day." Orlean has two tricks up her sleeve that make her profiles irresistible. First, she's got a mean hook. Take this lead: "Of all the guys who are standing around bus shelters in Manhattan dressed in nothing but their underpants, Marky Mark is undeniably the most polite." Second, she has an uncanny way of drawing her subjects. Bill Blass "is a virtuoso of the high-pitched eyebrow and the fortissimo gasp," while a boxer (the dog kind) wears "the earnest and slightly careworn expression of a small-town mayor." <p> Orlean is a New Yorker herself, and most of her subjects hail from the Big Apple, including such unique personas as a real estate broker who can describe the inside of almost any apartment in the city ("Walking down a Manhattan street with her is a paranormal experience"); Nat, the new tailor at Manhattan Valet; her hairdresser; the city's most popular clown; an Ashanti king who drives a taxi; and the owner of the only buttons-only store in America. The author is keenly observant and always tries to walk in her subject's shoes, even when it's a show dog ("If I were a bitch, I'd be in love with Biff Truesdale"). When she does tackle the rich and famous, she uses these same talents to create portraits so intimate and zesty they're unlike any other. Orlean writes that her only justification for choosing a story is that she cares about it, and it shows. Her fondness for her subjects rubs off as she draws us into the tight and exquisite focus of their mundane and fascinating lives. <I>--Lesley Reed</I> 1281832 2001 The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People total:321|5:65|4:147|3:82|2:24|1:3| 321 1210 489 30 3 0 false false Fri Jan 02 13:49:04 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 13:49:49 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 13:59:42 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 14:07:04 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Aug 14 12:45:17 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 13:49:15 -0700 2008
If Colin Duffy and I were to g...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Nov 14 10:04:04 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 14 10:09:50 -0800 2007
If Colin Duffy and I were to get married, we would...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Sep 21 08:46:45 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 10:11:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 08:51:17 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 10:52:17 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Feb 08 04:16:57 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 04:40:54 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Aug 16 09:22:16 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 09:23:57 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jan 08 21:27:01 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 21:28:59 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Sep 14 20:23:15 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 20:33:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 29 07:03:31 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 07:04:02 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 19:39:43 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 19:44:29 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 01 17:14:23 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 22 18:17:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 13:41:57 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 18:37:48 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 04:58:09 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 05:53:27 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 06:17:29 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 07:06:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 16 21:29:19 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 16 21:35:26 -0800 2007
Susan Orlean immerses herself in the lives of her subjects like few writers, whether it's a 10-year-old boy in New Jersey or Bill Blass. In college, an academic adv...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 10 07:06:38 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 04:02:56 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 07:06:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Nov 10 07:33:31 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 07:34:58 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 08:27:55 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 07:09:48 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=91860