Lethem's first essay collection, The Disappointment Artist is a rallying cry for fan boys of all stripes.  Within its pages you will find the laid bare soul of a pop culture fiend.  The novels of Philip K Dick, the comics of Jack Kirby, the films of John Cassavetes, Star Wars, The Searchers and more are shown as being worthy and sturdy foundations for building a life upon  --  or at least of retreating into, to escape, if only momentarily, from the vicissitudes of fate.  And there's more:  a paean to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, a personal memoir of a bohemian childhood, and a charting of the formation of identity through a personal constellation of pop culture artifacts.  For readers whose identities are likewise constructed out of the bric-a-brac of popular culture, ephemeral and otherwise, this is the book you've been waiting for.