An American Dream is a novel by American author Norman Mailer, published in 1965. It was first published in serialised form in Esquire, with Mailer writing each chapter to the deadlines set by the magazine. The novel follows Stephen Rojack, a decorated war hero, former congressman, and television star. One night, Rojack hears the moon talking to him, urging him to kill himself, and instead he murders his estranged wife and makes the death appear a suicide. In the course of the next twenty-four hours, Rojack descends into the lurid underbelly of Manhattan, holding his own against the Mafia, an intimidating singer with a knife and the New York City Police. Reviews of An American Dream were mixed, and the novel came under criticism for its portrayal and treatment of women, particularly by feminist critic Kate Millett, who tackled it head on in her study of women in literature, Sexual Politics.