This book tells the incredible true story of Ranulfo Juárez, a Mexican immigrant. Readers won’t know until the end whether Ranulfo became another innocent victim of the Financial Crisis of 2008, but, throughout, they will see Ranulfo and Peter confront naysayers and cheats, as well as their own differences and fears.

1. Cutting the Cloth.- 2. Invitation.- 3. Teaming Up.- 4. Saints of the Casino.- 5. Car Crash.- 6. Trip to Mexico.- 7. Don Quixote Rides Again.- 8. Searching for the Key.- 9. A Moon Shot.- 10. Visit to Campus.- 11. Confronting the Enemy.- 12. Mysteries of Money.- 13. Garbage Dream.- 14. Crash Warning.- 15. Stopping Time.- 16. Into the Mystic.- 17. Plan B.- 18. Mr. Success or Mr. Worthless?.- 19. Financial Crisis.- 20. Wrecking Ball.- 21. Respect for the Turtle. 

This book tells the incredible true story of Ranulfo Juárez, a Mexican immigrant. After working for years in the fields of Oregon and becoming a U.S. citizen, Ranulfo started making plans to buy a small bakery in 2005. But not knowing if the economy would hold steady, Ranulfo examined his dreams every morning in search of secret clues foretelling insight and a successful bakery—or homelessness. Ranulfo also enlisted author Peter Wogan, a white anthropology professor with a penchant for self-doubt, as his confidante and sidekick in this quest. Readers won’t know until the end whether Ranulfo became another innocent victim of the Financial Crisis of 2008, but, throughout, they will see Ranulfo and Peter confront naysayers and cheats, as well as their own differences and fears. Like Don Quixote, this book is comical, subversive, and inspirational.  

“This book is literary anthropology at its very best. Peter Wogan succeeds in writing with beauty and grace about a knotty subject, offering a memorable tale of immigration, corporate greed, the American dream, and intercultural friendship. Every so often a book comes along that restores my faith in the lyrical and liberating possibilities of ethnography. This book has done that for me. I recommend it to all who care about the future of humanistic research and writing.” (Ruth Behar, Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan, USA)“This book is a joy, proof that anthropology matters when it comes from a genuine desire to understand what makes us human. Peter Wogan has given us a memorable, learned, compassionate portrait of immigrants in America, with characters that are alive.” (Ilan Stavans, Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College, USA) “Corner-store dreams are my dreams. Not just in terms of our struggle to make it, but also ourdesire to belong and to be heard. I’ve lived in Salem most of my life. I've been to these tiendas that made my parents feel at home. Now I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to read this book.” (Jaime Arredondo, Treasurer for PCUN, Oregon Latino Farmworkers Organization)

Gives readers a subversive, funny, and inspirational narrative, like Don Quixote Tells a moving story about middle-aged struggles to overcome isolation Provides insight into Latino culture, prescient dreams, the Financial Crisis, and the heroics of small-business owners