Take a photo of a barcode or cover
354 reviews for:
Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
Nick Offerman
3.73 AVERAGE
354 reviews for:
Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
Nick Offerman
3.73 AVERAGE
I would like to give this book a 3.5. Overall I agreed with a lot Nick says and enjoyed learning a lot more about him. I found him more intelligent than I otherwise would have thought and it just made me like him more. The reason I couldn't give it a better rating is because a lot of times i felt he was rambling or just drawing it out. He openly says he goes into great detail, but sometimes it's superfluous. I also found some of his great Americans a stretch, but I did enjoy learning more about people I have never heard of before. I listened to this book so I think that's why I enjoyed more.
I enjoyed this on audiobook narrated by Offerman. I didn't love it as much as his first book, but the subject matter of this book wasn't as exciting for me. Still a lot of good material mixed with humor, which I dig.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
An interesting look into what Offerman considers his American heroes. Learned about a few new people to check out.
lighthearted
medium-paced
A rundown of Nick Offerman’s Most Admired Americans list. Some of Mr Offerman’s choices are a bit too esoteric to be truly enjoyed, unless you yourself like making wooden boats. His explanations and storytelling are insightful without being sanctimonious.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
An interesting mix, two thirds of which were worth it.
In listening to this book, read by the author, and then finally reading the last 75 pages in print because I just couldn't stand to literally hear him talk about himself anymore, I was forced to reach the conclusion that Nick Offerman is a blowhard.
He's a blowhard that I happen to agree with on a lot of topics, but that didn't seem to help much. He speaks at length about equality for women, people of color, and LGBTQIA folks, without seeming to recognize the huge pedestal of privilege he sits upon. For example, he mentions several times that, basically, if you don't love your job, you should find a new one. Which is remarkably short-sighted from someone who makes millions acting, and even if that petered out, he can make a good deal of money doing something else he loves just as much. Most of us cannot just wait around to find the perfect job, because of minor concerns like health insurance and mortgages. But sure, spout your judgments about how we just need more *gumption*. In another chapter, he talks about how food is better when it's crunchy and free-range and organic, and how he started feeling so much better when he started eating that way, so we should too. "You should take the time to eat quality food." But again, he fails to recognize that most people simply don't have his level of resources, whether it's money or time or energy. If you're on food stamps, you're not going to buy fancy organic produce when you can get more for your family with the regular stuff. If you're a working woman, you can't stop by the grocery every day to get the freshest stuff. It just doesn't fit the lives that most of us have to survive in, because we're not millionaires.
But my biggest problem was that I went into this book thinking I'd get some interesting historical perspectives and unsung heroes, but it was mostly just a laundry list of people he wanted an excuse to meet. His favorite author, the director of his favorite movie, his favorite musician, etc. And he failed to sell me on why Wendell fucking Berry deserved to be on the same list as Frederick Douglass or Eleanor Roosevelt. Aside from the first few chapters, the book was just a travelogue through Nick Offerman's "How I Got to Meet Famous People Because I, Too, am Famous Even Though I Know Nothing About What Middle Class Americans Are Dealing With In the 2000s". No, thanks.
He's a blowhard that I happen to agree with on a lot of topics, but that didn't seem to help much. He speaks at length about equality for women, people of color, and LGBTQIA folks, without seeming to recognize the huge pedestal of privilege he sits upon. For example, he mentions several times that, basically, if you don't love your job, you should find a new one. Which is remarkably short-sighted from someone who makes millions acting, and even if that petered out, he can make a good deal of money doing something else he loves just as much. Most of us cannot just wait around to find the perfect job, because of minor concerns like health insurance and mortgages. But sure, spout your judgments about how we just need more *gumption*. In another chapter, he talks about how food is better when it's crunchy and free-range and organic, and how he started feeling so much better when he started eating that way, so we should too. "You should take the time to eat quality food." But again, he fails to recognize that most people simply don't have his level of resources, whether it's money or time or energy. If you're on food stamps, you're not going to buy fancy organic produce when you can get more for your family with the regular stuff. If you're a working woman, you can't stop by the grocery every day to get the freshest stuff. It just doesn't fit the lives that most of us have to survive in, because we're not millionaires.
But my biggest problem was that I went into this book thinking I'd get some interesting historical perspectives and unsung heroes, but it was mostly just a laundry list of people he wanted an excuse to meet. His favorite author, the director of his favorite movie, his favorite musician, etc. And he failed to sell me on why Wendell fucking Berry deserved to be on the same list as Frederick Douglass or Eleanor Roosevelt. Aside from the first few chapters, the book was just a travelogue through Nick Offerman's "How I Got to Meet Famous People Because I, Too, am Famous Even Though I Know Nothing About What Middle Class Americans Are Dealing With In the 2000s". No, thanks.