Stomping Grounds: A Pilgrim's Progress Through Eight American Subcultures

Hampton Sides; W.

ISBN 10: 0688090494 / ISBN 13: 9780688090494

Published by William Morrow & Co, 1992

About this Item

NF/VG. First edition, first printing. Signed by author on title page. 272 pp.

Seller Inventory # 24801

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Stomping Grounds: A Pilgrim's Progress Through Eight American Subcultures
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688090494
• ISBN 13: 9780688090494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • List No. 1 - American Literature

About this title

Synopsis

A social analysis of eight uniquely American groups, from the Bohemian Club to the Church of God in Christ, shows to what extent American identities are shaped by involvement in groups and pastimes. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Reviews

Contemplating the various subcultures into which Americans organize themselves, freelance journalist Sides once mused, "If an American was into tiddlywinks, he could start a national association, and tiddlywinkers in their thousands would come crawling from the woodwork." Finding to his surprise that there actually was such an association, he set off to explore the national passion for joining. Sides attended the annual gatherings of eight associations that particularly titillated him; he reports here on a reunion of the power elite at the campy but exclusive Bohemian Club in San Francisco and the religious ardor he observed at annual meetings of Tupperware saleswomen, recreational-vehicles owners, sledders, aging hippies and Church of God disciples, among others. Almost always curious and entertaining, his descriptions of the settings, the members, the mystiques, the hoopla, the charismatic leaders and the histories of these groups throw revealing light on an idiosyncratic aspect of the national character. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Renowned for individualism, Americans paradoxically have what the author calls a "native genius" for forming groups. Here he presents eight such subcultures, each reflecting a kind of collective individualism run amok. His choices are as diverse as bikers at the Black Hills Motor Classic, Tupperware salesladies on their annual pilgrimage to company headquarters, modern hippies at their "Gathering of the Tribes," and members of the Bohemian Club, a secret all-male retreat of the rich and famous. Sides offers some sociological insights and historical background on each group, but he relies primarily on his acute power of observation and ability to tell a good story. A fun, fascinating book that is recommended for most public libraries.
- Jim Burns, Broward Cty. Lib. System, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.