After exploring the diaries of everyone from monarchs to madmen in the much-acclaimed "A Book of One's Own", Thomas Mallon now paints a brilliant mural of America itself. Crossing the country, he gets close to a dozen different national spectacles, including rocket launches, a rodeo championship, political campaigns, the trial of a bank robber, a small town's summer festival, & a pre-execution vigil at San Quentin. This is an extraordinary group portrait of the U.S., written with the same wit & elegance, the consistently sharp & affectionate eye, that have won the author high praise for his novels & essays.