{"product_id":"america-was-hard-to-find-paperback","title":"America Was Hard to Find - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKathleen Alcott\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the wake of an affair, the lives of an astronaut and a radical are forever altered by the political fault lines of the 1960s, setting off a series of events ricocheting from anti-Vietnam activism to the Apollo program to the AIDS crisis, in this sprawling multigenerational novel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEcuador, 1969: An American expatriate, Fay Fern, sits in the corner of a restaurant, she and her young son Wright turned away from the television where Vincent Kahn becomes the first man to walk on the moon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears earlier, Fay and Vincent meet at a pilots' bar in the Mojave Desert. Both seemed poised for reinvention--the married test pilot, Vincent, as an astronaut; the spurned child of privilege, Fay, as an activist. Their casual affair ends quickly, but its consequences linger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough their lives split, their senses of purpose deepen in tandem, each becoming heroes to different sides of the political spectrum of the 1960s and 70s: Vincent an icon with no plan beyond the mission for which he has single-mindedly trained, Fay a leader of a violent leftist group whose anti-Vietnam actions make her one of the FBI's most wanted. With her last public appearance, a demonstration that frames the Apollo program as a vehicle for distracting the American public from its country's atrocities, Fay leaves Wright to contend with her legacy, his own growing apathy, and the misdeeds of both his mother and his country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn immense, vivid reimagining of the Cold War era, \u003cem\u003eAmerica Was Hard to Find\u003c\/em\u003e traces the fallout of the cultural revolution that divided the country and explores the meaning of individual lives in times of upheaval. It also confirms Kathleen Alcott's reputation as a fearless and vital voice in fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEcuador, 1969: An American expatriate, Fay Fern, sits in the corner of a restaurant, she and her young son, Wright, turned away from the television where Vincent Kahn becomes the first man to walk on the moon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears earlier, Fay and Vincent meet at a pilots' bar in the Mojave Desert. Both seem poised for reinvention--the married test pilot, Vincent, as an astronaut; the spurned child of privilege, Fay, as an expatriate. Their casual affair ends quickly, but its consequences linger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough their lives split, their senses of purpose deepen in tandem, each becoming heroes to different sides of the political spectrum of the 1960s and '70s: Vincent an icon with no plan beyond the mission for which he has single-mindedly trained, Fay a leader of a violent leftist group whose anti-Vietnam actions make her one of the FBI's most wanted. With her last public appearance, a demonstration that frames the Apollo program as a vehicle for distracting the American public from its country's atrocities, Fay leaves Wright to contend with her legacy, his own growing apathy, and the misdeeds of both his mother and his country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn immense, vivid reimagining of the Cold War era, America Was Hard to Find traces the fallout of the cultural revolution that divided the country and explores the meaning of individual lives in times of upheaval. It also confirms Kathleen Alcott's reputation as a fearless and vital voice in fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e--Jim Shepard, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Aron\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEcuador, 1969: An American expatriate, Fay Fern, sits in the corner of a restaurant, she and her young son, Wright, turned away from the television where Vincent Kahn becomes the first man to walk on the moon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears earlier, Fay and Vincent meet at a pilots' bar in the Mojave Desert. Both seem poised for reinvention--the married test pilot, Vincent, as an astronaut; the spurned child of privilege, Fay, as an expatriate. Their casual affair ends quickly, but its consequences linger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough their lives split, their senses of purpose deepen in tandem, each becoming heroes to different sides of the political spectrum of the 1960s and '70s: Vincent an icon with no plan beyond the mission for which he has single-mindedly trained, Fay a leader of a violent leftist group whose anti-Vietnam actions make her one of the FBI's most wanted. With her last public appearance, a demonstration that frames the Apollo program as a vehicle for distracting the American public from its country's atrocities, Fay leaves Wright to contend with her legacy, his own growing apathy, and the misdeeds of both his mother and his country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn immense, vivid reimagining of the Cold War era, America Was Hard to Find traces the fallout of the cultural revolution that divided the country and explores the meaning of individual lives in times of upheaval. It also confirms Kathleen Alcott's reputation as a fearless and vital voice in fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 432\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 8 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 16, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42164566294663,"sku":"9780062662538","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/7b3f2f575c093099e68837f10a82b3e5.webp?v=1733306922","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/america-was-hard-to-find-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}