99% perspiration A new working history of the American way of life

Adam Chandler

Book - 2025

"An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." This phrase, arguably Thomas Edison's most famous quote, has been drilled into the minds of generations of Americans. A fairly straightforward iteration of the idea that innovation, discovery, and ingenuity are the result of drive and grit above all, it has also come to represent much darker myths: that hard work always leads to success and that achievement is the product of individuals and not communities. In this model, those who come out on top are there because they earned it, and everyone else needs to buckle down, glove u...p, and, maybe one day, they'll get there too. As the wealth gap widens, communities crumble, and Americans work more for less, Adam Chandler raises the question: What happens when perspiration isn't enough? To answer it, he crisscrosses the country interviewing mayors, teachers, generals, pastors, construction workers, and entrepreneurs, to reveal just how untenable relying on "perspiration" as a strategy has truly become. He also delves into America's past to reveal how our government, education system, and culture at large have woven the idea of meritocracy deep into the fabric of American society and how some of history's most famous so-called bootstrappers really built their wealth. From George Washington to Seattle,Washington, Jay Gatsby to Bill Gates, 99% Perspiration unpacks the misguided obsession with hard work that has come to define both the American dream and nightmare, offering insight into how we got here and hope for where we may go"--

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1 copy ordered
Subjects
Published
New York : Pantheon Books [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Adam Chandler (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
pages cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780593700570
9780593471098
  • Columbia
  • Exceptional and exceptionally vague
  • Landfall
  • Earn this
  • Fording the river
  • Right of way
  • Bustle
  • Hustle
  • Worth
  • Small normalcies
  • Automatic for the people
  • Blindness.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A respected journalist explores the evolution of work and its social meaning. Work has always been a central part of the American character, with the idea that success comes from effort, persistence, and ingenuity. But Chandler, a journalist and an author, argues that much of this is a myth. Climbing the socioeconomic ladder has never been as easy or as common as its advocates claim, and in the past two decades it has become almost impossible. The majority of working Americans are stuck in low-income jobs, Chandler says, and job security has been replaced by unfair contracts and the gig economy. He covered some of these issues in his 2019 book,Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom, and it is certainly true that the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation. As we saw during the pandemic, it made more financial sense for many to collect unemployment benefits and stimulus checks than to look for work. The book can at times make for grim reading, but Chandler argues that social crises have often presaged wide-ranging reforms. He favors a Universal Basic Income, although there does not yet appear to be much support for it. However, his thesis is valid: Work is simply not working--for many, if not most, Americans. Some new thinking is needed. A welcome call for a return to fairness and common sense. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.