The Pizza Diaries

Now this: I finally got a job. From ad agency to pizza parlor. I'm a driver. I didn't realize how bad I was at first. A disaster. It's a wonder they didn't fire me...not finding the address, forgetting the salad. And again not finding the address. It went on and on. I'm better now, and getting accepted by the crew -- even though I'm two or three decades older than they are. And getting to know them. Where's Tim? And again, later, on another occasion, where's Tim. Trash talking big loud Gulf War One veteran, concerned father, former owner of a pizza place, number one employee -- both driver and cook...seems to know every address in our territory ("After you turn off Perry," he tells me, "it's the first house on the second block on the left -- she's a Pontiac hillbilly whore but she'll give you a good tip") and every aspect of the kitchen. He doesn't show up. Again. His house has no hot water. And so begins this account of a curious cast of characters, brought together by fate and the economy, as they navigate the surreal world of low wage America trying to make a buck, and pizza. The author, Greg Farnum has been a soldier, soil tester, factory worker, PR executive and yes, pizza delivery driver. He has also documented modern America in his unique fashion in books like The Event, The Celestial Railroad, Build Your Own Brain and Helping Hands of the Locust People.