Book cover of American OZ: An Astonishing Year Inside Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals: Hitchhiking From California to New York, Alaska to Mexico

Book description

"Reminiscent of ... the gritty writings of Studs Terkel and John Steinbeck, with a dash of Jack Kerouac, Tony Horwitz, and even Hunter S. Thompson." Review!

"Majestic ... Deep Observations About Life!" -- Chicago Tribune.
American OZ is a rollicking, gritty, adventurous story of life in the secretive subculture of…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked American OZ as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I didn’t know I was curious about the secret lives of those that work for the carnival and circuses. There is much fiction written about it, but I never knew what it was really like, boots on the ground working in the “secretive subculture of traveling carnivals.” Who are the people who are drawn or forced into this work? What are their lives like before and after carnival work? What's life like on the road?

I was drawn to this book because I felt a kinship to the story of what life is like living between two worlds as I…

If you love American OZ...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like American OZ?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like American OZ.

Browse books like American OZ

Book cover of A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City
Book cover of Memoirs of a Geisha
Book cover of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like American OZ, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!