Synopses & Reviews
All Iain Levison really wants is a steady paycheck, cable television, and the possibility of a date on Saturday night. But after blowing $40,000 on an English degree, he cant find the first, cant afford the second, and cant even imagine what woman would consent to the third. So he embarks on a time-honored American tradition: scoring a few dead-end jobs until something better comes along. The problem is, it never does.
A Working Stiff's Manifesto is a laugh-out-loud memoir of one mans quest to stay afloat. From the North Carolina piedmont to the Alaskan waters, Levisons odyssey takes him on a cross-country tour of wage labor: gofer, oil deliveryman, mover, fish cutter, restaurant manager, cable thief, each job more mind-numbing than the last. A Working Stiff's Manifesto will resonate with anyone who has ever suffered a demeaning job, worn a name badge, or felt the tyranny of the time clock.
Review
"Bracing, hilarious and dead on." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"[Levison's] slacker ethos and deadpan delivery make reading Manifesto a job well worth taking." Entertainment Weekly
Review
"There is a naked, pitiless power in [Levison's] work that makes [Manifesto] more valuable than the usual journal of the down-and-out in America." USA Today
Review
"Levison writes tight, punchy prose, with deadpan humor and a mixture of savvy about and sympathy for his fellow working stiffs." The Wall Street Journal
Review
"It takes a certain je ne sais quoi to squirm your way in or out of any situation. And as you cruise through Levinson's memoir two things become obvious: he has an admirable work ethic (aside from a small bout of stealing) and an equally admirable ability to bullshit." Christina Mackin, Powells.com (Read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
Over the course of ten years lain Levison worked forty-two odd jobs across six states, from slime-line worker at a fish processing plant to furniture mover, film-set gofer, oil delivery man, and more. He quit thirty of them, got fired from nine, and as for the other three . . . the line was a little blurry. He just knew it wouldn't be right to show up again. A vivid and striking tour of wage labor in America, A Working Stiff's Manifesto is perfect reading for anyone who has raced against the tick of a time clock.