{"product_id":"us-songs-and-stories","title":"U.S.!: Songs and Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this hilarious and wildly inventive novel  Chris Bachelder brings Upton Sinclair back from the dead to see what he might make of our modern world. U.S.! is a playful  darkly comic novel that imagines the serial resurrection and assassination of tireless muckraker Upton Sinclair. In Chris Bachelders bizarre world  Sinclair is repeatedly brought back by beleaguered but optimistic leftists (whose refrain is \"Hope and Shovels Forever\")  and then gunned down (and once harpooned!) by those seeking fame  fortune  and American business as usual. As he grows more and more politically and culturally insignificant  Sinclair keeps writing his embarrassingly bad muckraking novels and keeps risking his life for the Socialist revolution  which is perpetually just around the corner. In documenting the demise (but dogged faith) of the American Left  as well as the violence and hysteria of the Right  Bachelder uses a wide range of forms: stories  songs  letters  journal entries  book reviews  memos  a syllabus  newspaper and magazine articles  Internet auctions  and transcripts of talk shows  interviews  and toll-free hotlines. The second part of the novel is a fast-paced narrative that brings the myriad characters together in an explosive encounter. A dazzling mix of laughs and revelations  U.S.! is not only an exploration of American politics and culture  but an investigation into the possibilities and problems of political art. Its publication will coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the publication of The Jungle  Sinclairs internationally renowned novel about the meat industry.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44966522421301,"sku":"ByrdShop_1582346364","price":46.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781582346366.jpg?v=1770566445","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/us-songs-and-stories","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}