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Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character Audiobook
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(3.03) - 159 listener ratings
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WHAT IS IT THAT DRIVES THE SUCCESS OF AMERICA AND THE IDENTITY OF ITS PEOPLE? ACCLAIMED WRITER AND CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TO THIS AMERICAN LIFE JACK HITT THINKS IT’S BECAUSE WE’RE ALL A BUNCH OF AMATEURS. America’s self-invented tinkerers are back at it in their metaphorical garages—fiddling with everything from solar-powered cars to space elevators. In Bunch of Amateurs, Jack Hitt visits a number of different garages and has written a fascinating book that looks at America’s current batch of amateurs and their pursuits. From a tattooed young woman in the Bay Area trying to splice a fish’s glow-in-the-dark gene into common yogurt (all done in her kitchen using salad spinners) to a space fanatic on the brink of developing the next generation of telescopes from his mobile home, Hitt not only tells the stories of people in the grip of a passion but argues that America’s history is bound up in a cycle of amateur surges. Beginning with Ben Franklin’s kite and leading all the way to the current TV hit American Idol, Hitt argues that the nation’s love of self-invented obsessives has always driven the country to rediscover the true heart of the American dream. Amateur pursuits are typically lamented as a world that just passed until a Sergey Brin or Mark Zuckerberg steps out of his garage (or dorm room) with the rare but crucial success story. In Bunch of Amateurs, Hitt argues that America is now poised to pioneer at another frontier that will lead, one more time, to the newest version of the American dream.
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"I enjoyed this book. Though it does address the amateur spirit (aka "American character") it is more a comparison of amateurs and professionals within several different fields, from bird watching to telescope building to biohacking. The term amateur has many connotations, and Jack Hitt explores many of them. In addition to great content, I love Hitt's writing style. Informative, engaging, and funny."
— Brett (4 out of 5 stars)
Bunch of Amateurs Listener Reviews
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" It's wide ranging. Hand ground telescope lenses to homebrew genetics. It reminds me of a This American Life episode, which isn't surprising. The author is a contributor. "
— Tlenon, 2/18/2014 -
" Just great! Enjoyed his writing and the examples. "
— LikeTheDog, 10/27/2013 -
" I'm in good company as an amateur. Fab read. "
— Aife, 10/21/2013 -
" Fascinating subjects and Hitt is a great writer. This book needed better editing for continuity. I definitely got bogged down in the astronomy chapter. The premise is interesting, though. "
— Julia, 10/19/2013 -
" The concept of this book sounded interesting, but unfortunately it just didn't hold my attention and I only got halfway through it. "
— Katie, 10/13/2013 -
" Good stuff...very like Bill Bryson in a way as one story tumbles into the next. "
— Dirk, 9/14/2013 -
" It was a case of the book being not exactly what I wanted, and not what I expected. Still good in many respects, but it was more about Jack Hitt's experiences with various amateurs and amateur organizations (and what he thought about them), rather than a really insightful book. "
— Jennifer, 8/24/2013 -
" I enjoyed this plenty. As is the case with so many books written by people who write primarily for magazines, this is essentially a series of lengthy articles around amateurs. Many are very good and I appreciated how well the stories were bookended with discussions of Ben Franklin. "
— Greg, 7/10/2013 -
" Audible audio version. I really enjoyed this book. It's packed with interesting stories from the original "hacker" Ben Franklin to biopunks messing with genetics in gargages today. "
— Chris, 5/29/2013 -
" Interesting vignettes about quirky people, but I don't think it all tied together in as compelling a way as the author wanted me to believe. "
— Andrea, 1/2/2013 -
" Glib, but his brain pulls interesting parallels ... "
— Lisa, 12/22/2012 -
" The idea to write about a "bunch of amateurs" was a good one but the execution was terrible. Not what I expected to read. "
— Anthony, 8/22/2012 -
" I'm having a hard time getting into this. I was really looking forward to being entertained but it seems ponderous 40 pages into it. "
— Don, 8/22/2012 -
" Disappointing, and while at times interesting, the off-topic flourishes ruined what could have been, should have been, a fascinating read. "
— Misty, 7/26/2012 -
" I will be honest. I was not crazy about this book in entirety. I love certain sections or chapters, but as a whole I wouldn't reread it. Chapter three intrigued if only because of my own amateur curiosity in biology/genetics. I enjoyed the humor and the down to earth nature of this book. "
— Pepper, 6/23/2012 -
" I'll never think of Ben Franklin the same again. "
— Kaia, 5/19/2012