"In this dazzling feat of reportage, Hank Stuever gets at what's best and worst not just about Christmas but about us as Americans. Hilarious, insightful, compassionate, and hugely entertaining, Tinsel is a gift (holiday or otherwise) to anyone who loves great writing."

        — CURTIS SITTENFELD, author of American Wife and Prep

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"Insightful, funny/sad, filled with poetry and despair. Who better than Hank Stuever to take on the Christmas-Industrial Complex with such ultimate humanity, given that he writes like an angel?"

        — DAVID RAKOFF, author of Don't Get Too Comfortable and Fraud

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"Hank Stuever wades bravely into that strange, terrifying maw that is Christmas, returning from the McMansionvilles of the flyover territories with a book that is not just hilarious but is suffused with the unexpected sweetness and warmth of—dare I say it?—100 Yule logs. It's not just about plastic trees and other garish frontiers of decor. Tinsel is a bigger tale, about what America has become while Santa wasn't watching."

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"Hank Stuever could have gone the obvious route in writing about Christmas — mixing the coy with the condescending — but bravely chose to take the road less traveled. The result is a book that is thoughtful, illuminating, compassionate, and even affectionate, and very funny. Mr. Stuever is one of those increasingly rare creatures: a journalist who has his heart in the right place."

        — JOE QUEENAN, author of Closing Time

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Publisher's Weekly, Aug. 24, 2009:
"With impeccable research and solid reporting, Stuever has written the gift book that keeps on giving—Christmas consumerism wrapped together with traditional family values. ..."