Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens

Couchsurfer, hitchhiker, and rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin embarks on a couchsurfing adventure to the homeland of “firebrand,” “populist,” “anti-American” president Hugo Chavez: the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Alone in the crime capital of the world Maslin immediately finds himself in trouble—arrested by knife-wielding police officers and inoculated with an unwanted vaccination. After a terrifying start in Caracas, he soon leaves the teeming city and travels to the places tourists never see, staying on the couches of people he befriended online just days earlier, and meeting everyone from fervent social revolutionaries to the country’s wealthy elite. He sets off in search of mile-high waterfalls, flat topped jungle plateaus, rolling deserts, and the famous lightning that appears suddenly in the sky with no rain or thunder. Visiting sprawling slums and opulent mansions, Maslin offers a fascinating and timely social, cultural, and histori- cal introduction to a country increasingly in the headlines. Often irreverent, frequently informative, and habitually funny, this is the remarkable account of a young adventurer’s journey through a breathtakingly beautiful and dynamic country where the politics of oil and social revolution are never far from the surface. 24 full-color photographs

An offbeat, tantalizing look behind the scenes of Venezuela. --Oliver Stone, An offbeat, tantalizing look behind the scenes ofVenezuela. --Oliver Stone, Jamie Maslin has put together an exciting mix of progressive politics and adventurous travelogue. Making his way through Venezuela, Maslin visits slums and country clubs, rainforests and Caribbean beaches, while coping with anti-Chavistas and the country's ubiquitous criminals, and learning why Hugo Chavez has so many loyal followers. A welcome antidote to the common mainstream media distortions peddled against Venezuela. --William Blum, author of Rogue State and Killing Hope

Jamie Maslin is a writer and traveler. He has hitchhiked from England to Iran and couchsurfed all over Venezuela. He is the author of Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn and Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens. He lives in Australia.