“Amazing . . . a gem of a book that uses only the strength of the human voice to tell an American story — sometimes dark, always fascinating.”

-- USA Today

“The accounts are wonderfully revealing, with gritty and almost shockingly honest detail. For all their variety, they weave a cohesive, passion-filled story of what people bring to their work. It's an addictive read.”

-- Harvard Business Review's Best Business Books of 2000

“Keen, disturbing, and deeply felt . . . the stories in Gig deliver a more rousing political wallop than those in Working . . . remarkable and strangely moving.”

-- Susan Faludi, The Village Voice

“I love this book! It's surprising and entertaining and makes the world seem like a bigger and more interesting place. Gig manages to document everyday life and give pure narrative pleasure at the same time. One feels proud to live in the same country as the people in this book.”

-- Ira Glass, host of This American Life

“A fascinating compilation of what the American workforce has to say about itself.”

-- George Plimpton

“Eye-opening . . . more revealing than any theories a sociologist could concoct.”

-- The Industry Standard

“Entertaining, sobering, validating . . . Ordinary people discuss their jobs with extraordinary candor.”

-- US Weekly

“In the age of advanced spin, this book accomplishes a very rare thing. It actually lets workers speak for themselves. . . . The result makes for a fascinating read.”

-- Andrew Ross, director, American Studies Program at New York University

“Emotional and eye-opening, each compelling description offers insight about the job itself and, more important, an intimate view of a single human life.”

-- Austin Chronicle

“An engaging, humorous, revealing, and refreshingly human look at the bizarre, life-threatening, and delightfully humdrum exploits of everyone from sports heroes to sex workers.”

-- Douglas Rushkoff, author of Coercion, Ecstasy Club, and Media Virus

"Inspired by Studs Terkel?s Working, the editors of the webzine Word began asking their friends, and friends of friends, to talk about their jobs. The number of online interviewees grew and the project developed into a literary record of over 150 personal accounts of work in the United States. The debt to Terkel's Working is obvious, but Gig is a worthy update of the 1974 classic." Ann Ellenbecker, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)

"Amazing...a gem of a book that uses only the strength of the human voice to tell an American story — sometimes dark, always fascinating." USA Today

"An engaging, humorous, revealing, and refreshingly human look at the bizarre, life-threatening, and delightfully humdrum exploits of everyone from sports heroes to sex workers." Douglas Rushkoff, author of Coercion, Ecstasy Club, and Media Virus

"The accounts are wonderfully revealing, with gritty and almost shockingly honest detail. For all their variety, they weave a cohesive, passion-filled story of what people bring to their work. It's an addictive read." Harvard Business Review's Best Business Books of 2000

"Emotional and eye-opening, each compelling description offers insight about the job itself and, more important, an intimate view of a single human life." Austin Chronicle

"Keen, disturbing, and deeply felt...the stories in Gig deliver a more rousing political wallop than those in Working...remarkable and strangely moving." Susan Faludi, The Village Voice

"In the age of advanced spin, this book accomplishes a very rare thing. It actually lets workers speak for themselves....The result makes for a fascinating read." Andrew Ross, director, American Studies Program at New York University

"I love this book! It's surprising and entertaining and makes the world seem like a bigger and more interesting place. Gig manages to document everyday life and give pure narrative pleasure at the same time. One feels proud to live in the same country as the people in this book." Ira Glass, host of This American Life

"Entertaining, sobering, validating....Ordinary people discuss their jobs with extraordinary candor." US Weekly

"A fascinating compilation of what the American workforce has to say about itself." George Plimpton

"Eye-opening...more revealing than any theories a sociologist could concoct." The Industry Standard

From an investment banker to a coal miner to a telephone psychic, more than 150 people talk about the demands, rewards, and dirty details of their jobs.