Product Description

It's the spring of 2001, the Connecticut suburbs are looking fresh and opulent. Everyone is driving great cars, building beautiful houses, living the American Dream. But Drew Hagel has spent the last decade watching things slip away - his first marriage, his real estate brokerage, and his beloved daughter, Shannon, now a distant and mysterious high school senior. He is in danger of losing his place in the affluent suburbs once ruled by his father, when an unexpected friendship with Quint Manning opens Drew's eyes to vast wealth. What Drew doesn't know is that Manning has problems of his own - his midas touch is abandoning him, his restless wife, Carrie is growing disillusioned with all the money, and his hard-drinking son, Jamie, Shannon's classmate, is careering out of control. As the fortunes of three families - parents and teenagers - collide, a terrible accident involving Jamie and Shannon gives Drew the leverage he needs to stay in the game. But what are the consequences of speculating with human lives rather than money? In this astonishing, suspenseful novel, Stephen Amidon chronicles the American suburban dream with devastating accuracy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1074265 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

From the Back Cover
'Amidon's absorbing novel is distinguished above all by its
taut, compelling plot, one hinged by intriguing moral ambiguities' The
Sunday Times

'Amidon has achieved the rare alchemy of creating a novel charged with
suspense from the lives of ordinary suburban families; it's also an
unflinching social commentary that has the potential to endure as a clear
and literate portrait of its time' Observer

'A brilliant examination of the undertow of sadness and desperation that
tugs at the American dream' New Statesman

'It's got more sex, booze and drama than The OC!' New Woman

About the Author
Stephen Amidon has written three books, including The New City. He worked in london for fifteen years before returning to the United States, where he lives with his wife and children.

Customer Reviews

great stuff
This is a wonderful novel, which is beautifully written and crammed with believable and compelling characters. Amidon seems equally good at writing about men and women, young and not so young. Human Capital is a rare type of book-- the kind you read in one go but which then lingers in the mind, raising questions about the world in which we live and the way we behave towards one another. Highly recommended.

America as it is
This is one of the best books I've read about contemporary America . It really captures the country's obsession with money and status. The characters are believable, and the plot becomes incredibly suspenseful in the second half. Required reading for anyone who cares about what is happening to the soul of the US of A.

Empty your Calendar!
Yes, empty your calendar for the weekend you take delivery of this book. It's so good you won't be able to stop reading until you reach the end. Great characters, highly believable and the story is a timeless one involving love, greed, weakness, mistakes - the whole works! This author was new to me, but now I've read this book I can't wait to get hold of his others.