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, the opening of the Christmas shopping season.

From there he follows a number of key residents of Frisco, Texas, as they navigate through the nativity and all its attendant crises:

Tammy Parnell, an eternally optimistic suburban mother and 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, the house visible from space with the brightest and most awe-inspiring Christmas decorations; and single mother and Bank of America employee 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.

Tinsel is a compelling tale of our half-trillion-dollar holiday, measuring what we’ve become against the ancient rituals of what we’ve always been.

Reviews:

Praise for TINSEL has been pouring in from around the country this holiday season, including:

"Laugh-out-loud funny... Stuever's keen eye misses very little." -- USA Today

"Wry, compelling, and telling commentary on the state of giving, getting, and celebrating in the holiday season." -- Huffington Post

"Fascinating... Stuever unwraps both appalling consumerism and genuine holiday spirit — sometimes in the same package — and treats the people he writes about with respect and affection, even when they're doing things he can't quite believe." -- St. Petersburg Times

"What stands out most in Tinsel is Stuever's genuine interest in his subjects . . . [His] fascination with and empathy for the human experience are abundant." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

 "Marvelously written and sharply observed." -- Austin American-Statesman

 "A nice antidote to the blizzard of obligations, expectations and traditions that bury us at the end of each year." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Stuever's clear-eyed examination of America in holiday orgy-mode is energetic, acerbic, and informative . . . Tinsel is well-written journalism about unexceptional people doing (for the most part) unexceptional things, but Stuever's generosity finds the extraordinary everywhere." -- The Stranger

"[Stuever’s] spot-on observations about how modern America celebrates the holiday — in all its retail madness — are satisfying and illuminating. . .  He has a knack for keeping you engaged. His gift for ending chapters and segments with startling visual images, pithy summations, a fabulous quote or his thought of the moment creates a glide effect that makes the book difficult to put down." -- Palm Beach Post"I knew Christmas in today's America was out of control, but had no idea just how much before reading this book . . .Tinsel  is crammed full of data and insights that illuminate how far we've strayed from a family holiday to the commercial and economic abyss we have created for ourselves as a country . . . A snapshot of contemporary America in search of meaning." -- San Jose Mercury News

"Scrupulously observed, deeply revealing and very, very funny." -- San Antonio Express-News

Hank Stuever talks TINSEL with Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show this Thursday, December 17!

He'll also discuss TINSEL in a live, in-studio interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation on Monday, December 21, from 2:30-3:00 pm EST!

The New Yorker calls Hank Stuever’s TINSEL “cultural anthropology at its most exuberant” in a Briefly Noted review in the December 21 issue.