Bunch of Amateurs
by Jack Hitt
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
72%
Critic Reviews: 12
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
71%
Reader Ratings: 57
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Synopsis
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... more
About Jack Hitt
Published: May 15, 2012 by Random House
Genre: Political & Social Sciences, Business & Economics. Non-fiction. 288 pages
- All Critics: 12
- Positive: 9
- Negative: 3
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Slate | 1 Jun 2012
...my America bears almost zero resemblance to the one that Hitt describes in his paean to the nonprofessional...Why is Hitt so consumed with locating the American Dream in a garage?
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The New York Times | 26 Oct 2012
Hitt is a virtuoso storyteller and a skilled distiller of complex subjects...He untangles various controversies...
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San Francisco Chronicle | 27 May 2012
...Hitt underestimates the intellectual curiosity that animates many professionals and the importance (like it or not) of specialized training in the world in which we live. Most distressingly, Hitt misses the anti-intellectualism that can - and does - inhere in the culture of amateurism.
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Kirkus Reviews | 15 Feb 2012
A quirky approach to a fresh way of looking at the human animal.
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CNN Money | 25 May 2012
Hitt is an ace yarn spinner, and his stories have a pleasant way of rolling back on themselves. He's in no rush and, besides, there are too many delightful rabbit holes to explore.
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New Haven Review | 13 May 2012
Mixing Ben Franklin, T. Rexes, robot clubs, and Clovis Man in a unique and profound way, Hitt’s BUNCH OF AMATEURS shows how America is always pioneering new frontiers that will lead to the newest version of the American dream.
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Time Out Chicago | 31 May 2012
Hitt writes entertainingly about each of his subjects, and traces the roots of America’s inventive spirit all the way back to Benjamin Franklin. But his pro tip to fellow journalists would be to dispassionately assess the project and its chances of success, while passionately capturing its spirit.
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Baltimore City Paper | 20 Jun 2012
The idea behind these stories is so timely because we live in an age when the internet has opened up every field to the assault of amateur knowledge. So it’s an important idea, no doubt, but it also seems to be demanded by the market as much as by the stories themselves.
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Publishers Weekly | 13 Feb 2012
As fascinating as it is inspiring, this hilarious book is a tour de force that celebrates troublemakers, risk takers, and the American spirit.
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Oliver DeMille | 10 Apr 2012
I loved the inclusion of the history of Franklin and Adams...The juxtaposition of these two founders with modern commentators Jon Steward and Stephen Colbert is worth the price of the book.
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Chapter 16 | 7 Sep 2012
Few other contemporary nonfiction writers working today are as prepared to hunt down and dissect intrinsically American specimens—and to engage a popular audience with the findings—as this guy.
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The Beaufort Gazette | 1 Jul 2012
This is a noble effort to justify his theme, but it doesn't quite work. Hitt has a lot of fun looking for evidence to support it, but in the end he didn't quite find what he was looking for.
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