Pulphead

Culled from twelve years' experience as both a freelance journalist and editor, John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead offers a captivating look at American culture—high, low, and off the radar. The breadth and diversity of subjects on hand is impressive: spelunking in underground caves in Tennessee to look at paintings left behind by indigenous tribes; marching with members of the Tea Party at Glenn Beck's 9/12 rally; attempting a psychological profile of Axl Rose. Sullivan digs deep beneath the surface of his subjects—as well as his own preconceptions—to find a kind of "truth," some foundation to which he can anchor the ideas he's developed, whether regarding Michael Jackson or obscure naturalist Constantine Rafinesque. Throughout the collection, Sullivan maintains a steady blend of compassion and cobra-quick wit in a voice that can slide from vernacular to high-toned academese and back without a hitch. And while that may conjure up the virtuosic spirit of David Foster Wallace, the most crucial difference here is Sullivan's fearlessness in the face of emotion. Where Wallace too often took cover behind his massive intellect and no-way-out self-consciousness, Sullivan instead openly flirts with sentimentality without ever losing his credibility. He's been witness to some extraordinary things and some heartbreaking and hilarious people, and this book is a gift to readers everywhere.