“I can’t think of a better way to spend Saturday night than staying home and reading this book.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Orlean’s high spirits and intelligence give her book the feeling of a good Saturday-night conversation. Her chapters are like beginnings of suspenseful novels.” —USA Today

“An unusual and entertaining cultural profile . . . with the drollness of her prose, the sharpness of her ear and eye, and her breadth of curiosity . . . Enlightening.” —Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

“Delightful . . . Entertaining and interesting . . . A pleasant reminder of how we are at once united by certain of our national customs yet divided by the individual or tribal ways in which we celebrate them.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

“Orlean, a quirky curator of modern cultural behavior . . . has documented those few hours so near and dear to every working-weeker. . . . A slide show shot in vivid Americana.” —Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe

“Amusing and informative . . . Orlean has a nearly unerring ear and eye for the pithy and the illuminating.” —David Finkle, Chicago Tribune