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Down Under
Media Tour

Live interviews on: ABC National; ABC Tasmania; ABC New South Wales; Triple M Sydney (Ugly Phil and Sami Show); ABC Western Australia ; ABC Illawarra; Radio 2UE Sydney; ABC Adelaide; ABC Radio National (Life Matters); ABC North Queensland; ABC Perth; Radio 6PR Perth; Radio 5AA Adelaide; ABC Melbourne; Radio 6PR Perth; Radio Triple R Melbourne; Radio 3AW Melbourne; Radio 2GB Sydney; Radio Western Australia; ABC Radio Hobart; Radio 4BC Brisbane; The Wire (national); ABC Nightlife (national); Radio New Zealand (national)

Also: 104.7 Gippsland FM (Morwell), ABC 612 Brisbane (Brisbane), ABC 666 Canberra (Canberra), ABC 702 Sydney (Sydney), ABC 720 Perth (Perth), ABC 891 Adelaide (Adelaide), ABC 936 Hobart (Hobart), ABC Ballarat (Ballarat), ABC Broken Hill (Broken Hill), ABC Capricornia (Rockhampton), ABC Central Australia (Alice Springs), ABC Central West NSW (Orange), ABC Darwin (Darwin), ABC Far North (Cairns), ABC Goldfields WA (Perth), ABC Goldfields/Esperance (Esperance), ABC Goulburn Murray (Wodonga), ABC Illawarra (Wollongong), ABC Kimberley (Broome), ABC Mid North Coast NSW (Coffs Harbour), ABC Midwest Wheatbelt (Geraldton), ABC Mildura Swan Hill (Mildura), ABC New England North West (Tamworth), ABC Newcastle (Newcastle), ABC North & West SA (Port Pirie), ABC North Coast NSW (Lismore), ABC North Queensland (Townsville), ABC North West Qld (Mt Isa), ABC North West WA (Karratha), ABC Northern Tasmania (Launceston), ABC Riverina (Wagga Wagga), ABC Riverland SA (Renmark), ABC South Coast WA (Albany), ABC South East NSW (Bega), ABC South East SA (Mt Gambier), ABC South West WA (Bunbury), ABC South Western Victoria (Warrnambool), ABC Southern Queensland (Toowoomba), ABC Sunshine & Cooloola Coasts (Sunshine Coast), ABC Tropical North (Mackay), ABC Upper Hunter (Muswellbrook), ABC West Coast SA (Port Lincoln), ABC Western Plains NSW (Dubbo), ABC Western Queensland (Longreach), ABC Western Victoria (Horsham), ABC Wide Bay (Bundaberg)

 

 
 
LEISUREVILLE Down Under

Leisureville is now available in Australia and New Zealand through the University of Queensland Press.

Reviews

“Girded by a healthy dose of humour, Blechman embeds himself in ... gated, age-segregated communities, not-so-old retirees manicure lawns, zoom about on golf carts, get fired up at bingo tournaments and frisky with Viagra vigour. He investigates [this] escapist phenomenon that began with Arizona's Sun City, but is now ballooning as baby boomers hit the retirement zone - a trend he regards as more secession than citizenship.” — Quantas Inflight Magazine

“In Leisureville, Blechman enters the at times unbelievable world of The Villages, a gated community larger than Manhattan with its own newspaper, local TV station and magazines. It's the Truman Show in reverse — you know it's not real and you actually want to stay there. Blechman examines how such leisure-filled utopias affect the fabric of our society, and what it means for the future if more of our seniors drop out, turn on and tune in to a life in Leisureville.” — The Australian (National)

“Blechman has stumbled upon a bizarre new manifestation of the baby boomer zeitgeist ... and the result is fascinating.... Just an hour north of Orlando airport in Florida there is a brave new world known simply as "The Villages". It spreads over 8000 hectares, has more than 160 kilometres of golf buggy tracks, is home to 75,000 people and has dozens of swimming pools, supermarkets, movie theatres and churches. It is the largest gated community in the world and caters exclusively for people over 55. No children are allowed. It is a true ‘gerotopia.’ This is a true story with an uncanny resemblance to a combination of The Truman Show and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.” — Sydney Morning Herald

“American journalist Andrew Blechman struck the mother lode when he was set up to meet Mr Midnight, one of the 75,000 residents of a gated community for retirees in Florida called The Villages. "All the ladies love him," he's told. "They call him Mr. Midnight. That's what he calls his penis, and the name has kind of stuck. We all use it." Blechman moved into The Villages for several weeks to research what is an increasingly popular option for retirees, gated communities, where the inhabitants drink and eat and smoke and watch TV and do whatever they feel like all day long. Children are not allowed to live in The Villages and the retirees seem to be happier for it. Golf-carts are definitely the way to go in the retirement villages; as one visitor observes, "you can drink and nobody screws with you.” When Blechman catches up with Mr Midnight he doesn't disappoint. He spends his days tanning and his nights screwing. "I dont want the real world any more. I just want to keep getting laid," he says. It is estimated that more than 12 million Americans will soon be living in gated communities. Leisureville is fun in a jaw-dropping way.” — The Age (Melbourne)

"Leisureville is a fascinating blend of serious history, social criticism, and hilarious, engaging reportage. Wildly entertaining." — Good Reading Magazine

"Andrew Blechman's humor cuts to the bone.... A quirky blend of serious history, social criticism and engaging reportage, Leisureville is a compelling read. — The Australian Senior

“Humorous and engaging ... about an increasingly disturbing trend.” — Australian Bookseller & Publisher

"In Leisureville, Blechman enters the at times unbelievable world of The Villages, a gated community larger than Manhattan with close to 100,000 residents, it's own newspaper, local TV station and magazines. It's like the Truman Show in reverse -- you know it's not real and you actually want to stay there." — Glee Books

“Blechman dives into this segregated senior utopia, offering a hilarious account on all its peculiarities. It is quite the vision of the baby boomer future.” — Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin (Brisbane)

“Andrew Blechman has seen the future and it is grotesque.” — The Weekend Australian (National, 2nd review)

Blechman is gentle but firm in his written criticisms of living in what he describes as an unsustainable "geritopia". — Sydney Morning Herald (2nd review)

"Leisureville is very well written, engages the reader immediately and holds that attention until the very last page." — Bonzer

"After reading Leisureville, not retiring sounds like a good idea." — Launceston Examiner (Tasmania)

“In a strong piece of investigative journalism ... Andrew Blechman examines a phenomenon that, like so much that is bad in US culture, is being exported to Australia — The Sunday Age (Melbourne, 2nd review)

"Living the late-life good life" — extensive excerpt of Leisureville in The Age (Melbourne)