The Graduate Student

For seven months, anthropologist Blackwell James has lived among the Wantayo people of the Amazon, immersing himself in their culture in order to collect data for his dissertation. Trouble is, he hasn’t done much research. Instead, he’s just hung out with the tribe, resulting in some fair skills with a bow and arrow but little else. When Blackwell returns to Columbia University with a trunk full of hallucinogenic vines but no research notes, his frustrated advisor packs him off to Los Angeles to assist a colleague with a primate experiment. But for an East Coaster freshly returned from the jungles of South America, Hollywood is a surreal new world, home to a cutthroat tribe of actors and filmmakers scrambling for money and fame. Caught up in the secret ambitions of his new employers, Blackwell begins a strange trip through the surreal world of movie stars, murder, and money. A secret society, a ghost town, two large chimpanzees, and several shamanistic drug-induced journeys round out this outrageous novel, which features “cameos” by Sylvester Stallone, Johnny Depp, and Steven Spielberg. Gleefully continuing the great literary tradition of comic Hollywood novels, The Graduate Student is an exuberant and riveting ride. Polster fits between Hiaasen and Vonnegut. - Publishers WeeklyPolster practices the humorist’s craft with a bold, sure hand that recalls Mark Twain. — Kirkus Reviews

Equal parts novelist, journalist, explorer, and movie producer, James Polster draws on his rich cultural experiences to craft highly entertaining stories with social significance. From profiling Indira Gandhi and Donald Trump, to covering the World Championship of Elephant Polo in Nepal, to navigating the Amazon River and living among jungle cannibals, Polster s adventures have given him a unique perspective on life that infuses his work with witty depth. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia universities, Polster has written A Guest in the Jungle, The Graduate Student, and Brown, which received the Critics Choice Award and was named by Publishers Weekly as a Best Book of the Year. He lives in Los Angeles.

For over 25 years, David Doersch has delighted audiences with various roles on stage, film, and recordings. Mr. Doersch's has worked some of the most prestigious theatres in America, including the Guthrie Theatre, The Dallas Theatre Center, The American Players Theatre, and The Virginia Stage Company. He has recorded dozens of cases for Audio Case Files, worked in film and TV, and has toured as a musician.