Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present

In Tinsel, Hank Stuever searches out the most outlandish cultural excesses as well as the secret beauties of modern America¿s half-trillion-dollar Christmas holiday.

When Stuever¿s narrative begins, he¿s standing in line with the people waiting to purchase flat-screen TVs at Best Buy on Black Friday. From there he follows Tammy Parnell, the proprietor of ¿Two Elves with a Twist,¿ a company that decorates other people¿s houses for Christmas; Jeff and Bridgett Trykoski, owners of that one house every town has with Christmas decorations visible from space; and single mother Caroll Cavazos, who hopes that the life-affirming moments of Christmas might overcome the struggles of the rest of the year. Steuver¿s portraits are at once humane, heartfelt, revealing¿and very, very funny.