This book, without going overboard, exploded my brain. In one of my progress updates, I said it was like an album where every song is perfect and the sequencing is exactly right. And that's still how I feel about it. The scope of this collection kept telescoping out as I was reading it. At first, it seemed like a book about the American South, and the role it plays in both the author's life and that of America today, but as I read on, it expanded. It was about America, really--where it's at now and where it had been and a little bit of where it might be headed.

Every essay in the book is a marvel on its own. While I wasn't as fascinated by the Rafinesque piece in the middle of the book (If this were an album, that piece would be the 20 minute long epic that anchors it), but I admired the style. My favorite essays were "Feet in Smoke," about Sullivan's brother after a near-death experience, and "Getting Down to What's Really Real," about the surreal (ha!) life of Real World alumni who are paid to go clubbing and partying. I once wrote an essay of my own about reality TV, and I was absolutely humbled by Sullivan's take on it. (Though mine is still pretty funny, I think. And I didn't interview anyone for it, so, you know...)

If you haven't read Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son, this is a great introduction to an immensely talented author, one with incredible range. If you have read Blood Horses, then there's no introduction needed. You already know what a badass Sullivan is.