Lost in Mongolia: Travels in Hollywood and Other Foreign Lands (Paperback)

~ Tad Friend (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

Travel pieces occupy only a third of this eclectic collection: before Friend departs for Morocco, the Philippines, or the Basque region of Spain (where he witnesses a heavy-lifting contest and finds that he can't lift much), he trains his gaze on Hollywood and other mysteries of America, with hilarious results.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Review

"No journalism about the entertainment business gives me more pleasure than Tad Friend's. He is unvaryingly smart, fun, funny and fearless, and a terrific reporter to boot."
--Kurt Andersen, author of Turn of the Century

"Tad Friend is the finest writer who has never done stand-up comedy working today. Reading these thoughtful, surprising essays is pure pleasure."
--Steve Martin, author of Shopgirl and Pure Drivel
-- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: AtRandom (March 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812991559
• ISBN-13: 978-0812991550
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #603,793 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a terrific book, May 20, 2001

By A Customer

Tad Friend's gift as a journalist comes through on every page. Each piece in this collection has a fresh and original point of view. And Friend is a pleasure to read. His writing is smart, lucid and thoughtful. And he can be exceptionally funny.

The travel story, Lost in Mongolia, is a gripping, sad journey. White Trash Nation is as hilarious as it is disturbing. And the chapters on Hollywood have forever altered the way I view television.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Premiere Magazine review, April 26, 2001

By A Customer

"In LOST IN MONGOLIA, [Tad Friend] offers a glimpse under the hood of Hollywood's sleek machine."

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertainment Weekly's review, April 11, 2001

By A Customer

Friend's first collection suggests that the "New Yorker" staff writer would make a killer cocktail-party guest: His essays and articles range from the sobering (a moving postmortem on River Phoenix's death) to the sublime (America's early-90's acceptance of white-trash culture). And while "Lost" focuses primarily on popular culture (a subject Friend approaches with a mix of fanboy enthusiasm and grown-up skepticism), it takes unexpected detours through the Philippines, Morocco, and, of course, Mongolia itself--where a routine travel story suddenly becomes a moving tribute to a curmudgeonly travel companion. A-.