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Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
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Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory

by Mickey Hess

Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory Cover

ISBN13: 9781891053078
ISBN10: 1891053078
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory is about choosing what you want to be when you grow up, and finding out you still have to wait tables on the weekends.

When Mickey Hess discovers that he can list his experience as a college instructor on an application to work as an ice cream man — and still get the job — he starts to wonder if being a professor has lost its prestige.

With college enrollment and tuition costs at record highs, universities are staffing their courses with part-time instructors who commute between different schools to make a living. Big Wheel follows one year in the life of an adjunct instructor who takes on side jobs as an ice cream man, stand-up comedian, haunted house character, and Billy Graham Crusader. The jobs begin out of financial necessity, but become more of a diversion from a teaching career that Hess fears he is starting to take far more seriously than this employers are taking him.

Review:

"Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory is an absolute winner, exploring the difficulties and trials of finding a job, facing a lifetime of work, and searching for meaning somewhere within that work. Mickey Hess writes with truthful insights and rip-roaring hilarity. The fact that it is non-fiction only makes the book that much more important and engaging." Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned

Review:

"Mickey Hess has taken his experiences as a struggling writing instructor and made them into a wry, picaresque novel. Thoroughly humorous." Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Review:

"Underground publishing advocate Mickey Hess uses deadpan humor and pungent observations to describe the price he pays for pursuing a passion — teach college students how to write." Chicago Reader

Review:

"Mickey Hess makes you want to move to Kentucky and hang out and write poetry for the rest of your life." David Amram, author of Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac

About the Author

Mickey Hess taught part-time for several universities in Kentucky and Indiana before moving to his current position as Assistant Professor of English at Rider University. His books include Icons of Hip Hop, and Is Hip Hop Dead?. His writing has appeared in Ninth Letter, Punk Planet, and Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category. He lives in Philadelphia.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

George Darby, December 30, 2008 (view all comments by George Darby)
Hess captures the struggle of living with debt while swimming through the bog of modern day liberal arts education. But Big Wheel isn't whiny. The book is funny and entertaining -- it's a release and a welcome distraction.
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(3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9781891053078
Author:
Hess, Mickey
Publisher:
Garrett County Press
Subject:
Teachers
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Careers - General
Subject:
Higher
Subject:
Careers
Subject:
College teachers, Part-time -- United States.
Subject:
Teachers -- Salaries, etc. -- United States.
Subject:
Business-Careers
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
20080731
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
231
Dimensions:
8 x 5.5 in

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Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$6.95 In Stock
Product details 231 pages Garrett County Press - English 9781891053078 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory is an absolute winner, exploring the difficulties and trials of finding a job, facing a lifetime of work, and searching for meaning somewhere within that work. Mickey Hess writes with truthful insights and rip-roaring hilarity. The fact that it is non-fiction only makes the book that much more important and engaging."
"Review" by , "Mickey Hess has taken his experiences as a struggling writing instructor and made them into a wry, picaresque novel. Thoroughly humorous."
"Review" by , "Underground publishing advocate Mickey Hess uses deadpan humor and pungent observations to describe the price he pays for pursuing a passion — teach college students how to write."
"Review" by , "Mickey Hess makes you want to move to Kentucky and hang out and write poetry for the rest of your life."
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