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22nd out of 258 books
—
180 voters
Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs
by
Marisa Bowe (Goodreads Author) ,
John Bowe , Sabin Streeter
“Amazing . . . a gem of a book that uses only the strength of the human voice to tell an American story -- sometimes dark, always fascinating.”
-- USA Today
“The accounts are wonderfully revealing, with gritty and almost shockingly honest detail. For all their variety, they weave a cohesive, passion-filled story of what people bring to their work. It's an addictive read.”
--...more
-- USA Today
“The accounts are wonderfully revealing, with gritty and almost shockingly honest detail. For all their variety, they weave a cohesive, passion-filled story of what people bring to their work. It's an addictive read.”
--...more
Paperback, 688 pages
Published
August 21st 2001
by Broadway
(first published 2000)
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People talking candidly about their jobs, that's what this book is all about. Some of the interviews are a bit dated (copyright 2001), like all the people in the tech sector talking about how their businesses are taking off, but overall, the people interviewed are interesting and you get a good survey of the fundamental questions about other people's jobs--how they got into it, why they're doing it, how they feel about it, etc. The book is especially good because it covers a diverse array of car...more
This book is interesting to me on a lot of levels. It is essentially a series of interviews about what people do for a living. It may very well be the first book developed from a website; I'd be curious if anyone is aware of an earlier one. Unlike the current craze of personal memoir (blog) books, or coffee table LOLz books, this is actually very journalistic in nature. These stories seem like they were collected by audio interviews, and it's hard to imagine any website doing that today. The fac...more
This book was fascinating to read - it's a bunch of people talking candidly about their jobs. Some of them are shocking, some uplifting, some downright depressing. But all of them were very interesting. My favorites were the florist (because I've always had a secret desire to be florist), the software engineer (because he had fabulous insights on the differences in lifestyle between socialist nations and capitalist ones), and the McDonald's crew member (her uplifting spirit and sense of self is...more
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Interesting snapshot into the lives of people doing a variety of jobs. I found it fascinating to hear the insider view of so many professions.
However, I wish the interviewees were people that interested in doing their job long-term---so that you could get a feel for how it might be to do that job for a living. No such luck. Many of the interviewees complained about their job, and wanted to leave it as soon as possible. The interviewer could also have focused the interviews on the jobs more---man...more
However, I wish the interviewees were people that interested in doing their job long-term---so that you could get a feel for how it might be to do that job for a living. No such luck. Many of the interviewees complained about their job, and wanted to leave it as soon as possible. The interviewer could also have focused the interviews on the jobs more---man...more
Jun 10, 2008
Lauren
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone in college or out of it
Shelves:
haveread
Awesome, revolting, sad and totally humbling. This is what the early years of reality TV would be if they had been in written form. Totally intriguing and something you cannot look away from.
Excellent, well laid out and thought out, entertaining and thought-provoking. The jobs I enjoyed reading about most: Crime Scene Cleaner, Train Engineer, Florist, Food Stylist, Book Scout, Bookie (super interesting!), FBI Agent, Homicide Detective, U.S. Congressman (Barney Frank! his bit is one of the best parts of the book). I guess Accountant and Librarian are 2 jobs that were not deemed interesting enough to make the cut ;) but this was a fascinating book overall and well worth reading. You'd...more
Interesting set of interviews about what people think about their wide variety of jobs. Some ho-hum, some really interesting, and some startling (like the UPS guy who gives better service to places with the best porn magazines in their bathrooms). Not surprisingly, I found the most interesting ones to be the ones surrounding the entertainment industry... being an assistant to a movie producer seems just like what you'd imagine it to be--working 24x7 for a complete maniac, and accepting constant...more
This book was fascinating to me; it illustrated that the reasons why people choose the kind of work they do and how they feel towards it are as numerous and unique as the people themselves. The book covers the occupations you'd expect, but also sheds light on lesser-known occupations like moving huge pieces of art, or supervising workers at a chicken slaughtering facility, to give two examples.
After I read this book, I felt I had learned more about the US's economy, demography, regional differe...more
After I read this book, I felt I had learned more about the US's economy, demography, regional differe...more
This book is like a bunch of short stories. There are different aged people different personal stories and each person writes in their own style. They tell you about their job. It's a great read riding the train back and forth from your house to your job, waiting for appointments, sitting in the park, eating lunch. It's great to curl up with this book.
You can get not only a view of each job by someone who has worked it but also a good read. I don't know. This is simple because it's slice of lif...more
You can get not only a view of each job by someone who has worked it but also a good read. I don't know. This is simple because it's slice of lif...more
Jul 28, 2011
Mark Woodland
added it
A fascinating read that I would recommend to nearly anyone. On the other hand, it's not the original in its genre and style: Studs Terkel came out with "Working" quite a long time ago, and this book borrows heavily from the prior work. On the whole, I find Terkel to be a better chronicler, but this book has a couple of significant advantages. One, it's more recent, and readers may find the material fresher. Two, it includes professions that weren't even around when Terkel wrote his book. If one...more
I found this book really fascinating for reasons I did not expect. It is a book composed of condensed 3 or 4 page interviews with people in a fairly comprehensive range of jobs. I checked it out because I thought it might give me some guidance about types of jobs or careers that might be interesting to me. What I took away from it was more of a nuanced insight into how different people think of their work, what they like and don't like about the jobs they do, the casual, sociological knowledge t...more
This book follows a very simple formula. People across a wide variety of jobs were asked to talk about their work and the interviews are presented, with minimal editing. Thus, the structure mimics that of Studs Terkel's 1972 classic "Working" Although there are a couple of famous names (Jerry Bruckheimer, Heidi Klum), the great majority of the contributions are from 'ordinary people'.
It’s remarkable how well things turned out. The book is wide-ranging, consistently interesting, fun to read, and...more
It’s remarkable how well things turned out. The book is wide-ranging, consistently interesting, fun to read, and...more
This is a book I read every few years or so. The book basically consists of people from all walks of life talking about their jobs. The jobs run the full gamut -- from Kinko's employee to actress (Debra Messing) to crime scene cleaners. Each interview has a unique voice depending on who is telling the story. You really get a glimpse inside each person's working world and their life. In my view, it is a more modern version of Studs Terkel's Working, which I just found too dated for my tastes.
I read this a few years ago....great vacation book or as a quick break from serious reading. The author essentially interviewed people about their jobs and gave a few pages to each. As I recall, the jobs ranged from executives to UPS drivers. Some of it was just interesting because of the job while others where hilarious...like the UPS driver who finished his route early so he could sneak into a nearby pool to swim in the afternoon (or something like that). Easy, mindless reading.
I use this book for my class on the history of jobs in the America. The students always love this book, as it has some great stories in it. It is packed with dozens of short stories written by everyday people about their jobs and they pull no punches! My favorites include the transvestite prostitute in NYC and the 12 year old drug dealer (scary, but true).
Imagine that you're reading transcript after transcript from Ira Glass' This American Life. This will give you a little bit of an idea what's in store for you as you curl up with Gig.
My sis gave me this book for Christmas, and it got me through some cold, dark, lonely winter days. These were my friends: the Wal-Mart Greeter, the Slaughterhouse HR Rep, the Hat-Store Owner, the Film Director. The most fascinating tales often came from the people with the most dull-sounding jobs, like the Universit...more
My sis gave me this book for Christmas, and it got me through some cold, dark, lonely winter days. These were my friends: the Wal-Mart Greeter, the Slaughterhouse HR Rep, the Hat-Store Owner, the Film Director. The most fascinating tales often came from the people with the most dull-sounding jobs, like the Universit...more
Like a series of incredibly vivid short stories, but real. Worth reading for the crime-scene cleanup impresario alone. Oh, and if you need an idea for your next screenplay, check out the homicide detective! Plus: interviews with Barney Frank, Heidi Klum, and Jerry Bruckheimer (who sounds just exactly how you would expect. Exactly.).
May 14, 2007
Lauren
is currently reading it
This book provides short essays, roughly 3-5 pages from various people across the country. Each of them writes about their jobs. Each essay is not only different in its author and their profession, but also in what they choose to write on. Some focus on what they do day to day while others focus on the strengths and weaknesses of their job, how they got there, etc.
Some of the people hold positions of people that we have interacted with a lot in our lives but probably didn't stop to think about w...more
Some of the people hold positions of people that we have interacted with a lot in our lives but probably didn't stop to think about w...more
A great read for anyone who has a job, wants a job, or has a job but wants a different job. No job is left unexplored--from prostitute to CEO. In this edited volume, the voice of each individual worker comes across to the reader in a way that is unique and touching. I laughed and cried, and I really liked this book.
Despite being ~10 years old (about as old as Nickel and Dimed, if you really think about it) - this is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. 100 people, interviewed on what they do in their everyday lives - what their jobs are. From UPS deliverymen, to CEO's, to truck drivers, to strippers.
A fascinating bunch of tales which deftly takes you inside the crazy world of what people do. Kind of like a hep modern Studs Terkel book, a real smooth read.
It's a also a big yellow book which has followed me around, sitting on my various bookshelves, for many years.
It's a also a big yellow book which has followed me around, sitting on my various bookshelves, for many years.
REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING! An excellent compliaation of interviews and perspectives from people, by people, on their jobs, ranging from the exotic to the ordinary to the illegal. Any easy read, and taken at one sitting, or in small bites a few pages at a time.
Absolutely fascinating; a side swath of people describe their jobs in just a few pages. Appropriately, it begins with a Wal-Mart Greeter and then proceeds to careen through a universe of varied employments. If I was a teacher I'd force every student to read this to open their eyes to the highs and lows of the world - from film director to poultry factory worker. On a side note: a few years ago I saw a tv report that gave me the update on one of the characters in this book - The Crime Scene Clean...more
Jan 17, 2011
paul
added it
this book is great because you can skip around and read chapters, and all of them are interesting throughout. it's a great book to read when you are waiting to get something else out of the library, or otherwise don't want to embark on a full book.
Great book, made me realize again that there are no perfect jobs that make you happy 24/7, every one has things about it people hate and deal with. Interesting to get a lot of different people's opinions on a lot of different jobs
Fascinating insights on what folks do in so many jobs, how they got there, why they love and hate what they do and sometimes why they're leaving if they can. Makes you appreciate the challenges all of us face every day.
Large (near 700 pgs) book focusing on, well, Americans and their jobs, made up of a huge amount of various jobs (everything froom carnival workers to congressmen), most with section running about half a dozen or so pages. This is a blessing as someone of the folks here are pretty bland but it's easy to get through them due to length. But those are few and far between and most of the stuff is fairly interesting; occasionaly hilarious (the UPS worker who does everything BUT work and strangely enou...more
May 11, 2012
Katherine
is currently reading it
It reads just like an updated version of Studs Terkel's Working. I love hearing about all different kinds of jobs, some of which you would never have thought about as a way to earn a living.
loved the crime scene cleaners. overall, very interesting snapshots of the life in different jobs. important to remember they are also individual experiences.
I could read this all day. I used to look into people's houses when we drove through suburbs and imagine what kind of life each person had. This book pretty much scratches that itch.
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