Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line
by Ben Hamper
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ben HamperEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-07-01
ISBN: 0446394009
Number of pages: 260
Publisher: Warner Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780446394000
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line
Book Review: "We've gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do...."
Summary: 4 Stars
Something to which author Ben Hamper doesn't necessarily subscribe is the so-called "Puritan work ethic". This well-written, funny, and covertly disturbing journal of life on the assembly line makes it abundantly clear that Mr. Hamper's ambitions lay no further than that day's "quittin' time" and the subsequent stop at the neighborhood bar. It's a life which, according to him at least, was almost pre-destined upon birth and which would lead to an early grave if he'd allow it to continue as such.
Booze, drugs, and rock & roll figure prominently in this life. In fact, one often gets the impression this "life" represents the rule and not the exception. His keen, detailed reportage of daily events leads one to believe that he's just "one of the guys", a cog in the industrial complex wherein if a man or woman can last thirty years then there'll be joy at the end of some north-of-Flint rainbow. But therein lies the rub.
Combinations of daily repetitious routine, lack of a clear sense of purpose, and guiltless self-destructive habits can make thirty years seem like an eternity. After reading this book, I came away thinking this was not only endemic to the life of an autoworker, but also downright insane.
What I found disappointing in Hamper's account was an apparent lack of discernment as to the role of his union in making the pay and working conditions as "tolerable" as they were. The book's few instances where the union local played a part were as if its presence was taken for granted as much as the plant's lifelong presence in his town; i.e. an impervious constituent of life's landscape. Ultimately, it was not to be.
However, as prideful a "rivethead" as he was, I think Hamper's ultimate point was that this was not going to be the lifetime calling he had envisioned. The accounts of his serendipitous success as a column writer and the notoriety it engendered made for some great reading; a true story of redemption which has not seen its final chapter.
I heartily recommend this book to everyone...not just current and prospective "shoprats".
Summary of Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line
The man the Detroit Free Press calls "a blue collar Tom Wolfe" delivers a full-barreled blast of truth and gritty reality in Rivethead, a no-holds-barred journey through the belly of the American industrial beast.Business Books
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