I unequivocally loved this book. It's a series of first-person essays based on interviews with Americans about their jobs. Fascinating look at people and their jobs, where sometimes the job itself is fascinating, sometimes the actual person is the fascinating part. The essays are beautifully done and imperceptibly edited--so conversational, just like you're sitting down with someone and they're telling you a really interesting story. LOVED. Provides amazing insight into people's everyday lives. Some of my very favorites were the husband and wife truckers, the bus driver, the buffalo rancher, the barbecue cooks, and the prison guard. So many gems of wisdom that can apply to a number of jobs--even a librarian:
"I wish I had more good days than I do. Because the good days are very good. And it's a good job, overall it is. It's just kind of up and down sometimes, you know? So when you have a good day, you save those days. You hope to have more days like them than you do. My last good day was about two weeks ago. Nobody said anything. Everybody paid. I didn't get cussed at, nobody tried to pull a fast one over me. Everything went real smooth. No traffic, no accidents, no hazards, That was precious." (p. 187 - bus driver)
"If they get excited, they get in trouble. They'll run into a fence or break it down, so be patient. Slow. Keep your mouth shut. Best way to handle them is to put some duct tape over your mouth. If you get excited, they'll get lost or get away, you'll scare them. When you sort them, be quiet. Patient and slow." (p. 225 - buffalo rancher)
"Other than that, you basically just hang out. You don't really work, you just enforce rules and make sure they don't fight and aren't killing each other." (p.549 - prison guard)
