
Gumption
Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
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Narrated by:
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Nick Offerman
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By:
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Nick Offerman
About this listen
The star of Parks and Recreation and author of the New York Times best seller Paddle Your Own Canoe returns with a second book that humorously highlights 21 figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day - Nick’s personal pantheon of “great Americans".
To millions of people, Nick Offerman is America. Both Nick and his character, Ron Swanson, are known for their humor and patriotism in equal measure.
After the great success of his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Offerman now focuses on the lives of those who inspired him. From George Washington to Willie Nelson, he describes 21 heroic figures and why they inspire in him such great meaning. He’ll combine both serious history with light-hearted humor - comparing, say, George Washington’s wooden teeth to his own experience as a woodworker. The subject matter will also allow Offerman to expound upon his favorite topics, which listeners love to hear - areas such as religion, politics, woodworking and handcrafting, agriculture, creativity, philosophy, fashion, and, of course, meat.
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- By Corbet on 10-16-20
By: Nick Offerman
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Handmade
- Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction
- By: Gary Rogowski
- Narrated by: BJ Harrison
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Handmade is a profound meditation on the eternal value of manual work, creativity, human fallibility, and the stubborn pursuit of quality work. Rogowski tells his life story of how he became a craftsman and how years of persistent work have taught him patience, resilience, tolerance for failure, and a love of pursuing beauty and mastery for its own sake.
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tedious and indulgent
- By Craig Newcomb on 03-13-19
By: Gary Rogowski
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The Need to Be Whole
- By: Wendell Berry
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Wendell Berry has never been afraid to speak up for the dispossessed. The Need to Be Whole continues the work he began in The Hidden Wound (1970) and The Unsettling of America (1977), demanding a careful exploration of this hard, shared truth: The wealth of the mighty few governing this nation has been built on the unpaid labor of others.
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Necessary Reading for These Troubled Times
- By Jane Vandenburgh on 11-05-22
By: Wendell Berry
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The Unsettling of America
- Culture & Agriculture
- By: Wendell Berry
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its publication in 1977, The Unsettling of America has been recognized as a classic of American letters. In it, Wendell Berry argues that good farming is a cultural and spiritual discipline. Today’s agribusiness, however, takes farming out of its cultural context and away from families. As a result, we as a nation are more estranged from the land - from the intimate knowledge, love, and care of it.
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love the material, meh on the performance.
- By Fireham on 07-10-20
By: Wendell Berry
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Bedtime Stories for Cynics
- By: Dave Hill, Jessica Conrad, Sean Keane, and others
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman, Phoebe Robinson, David Spade, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Original Recording
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Are the kids asleep? Yes? Good. This one isn’t for them. Now, if your weary, grown-up mind has been searching for a snarkier alternative to your favorite childhood tales, this Audible Original, hosted by Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), will scratch that itch - and then some. Enjoy a hilarious collection of short stories, featuring performances from the likes of Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong), Tony Hale (Veep), Patton Oswalt (The Goldbergs), and David Spade (Saturday Night Live).
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It's Just...Alright.
- By Chelsea on 06-10-19
By: Dave Hill, and others
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The World-Ending Fire
- The Essential Wendell Berry
- By: Wendell Berry
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In a time when our relationship to the natural world is ruled by the violence and greed of unbridled consumerism, Wendell Berry speaks out in these prescient essays, drawn from his 50-year campaign on behalf of American lands and communities. The writings gathered in The World-Ending Fire are the unique product of a life spent farming the fields of rural Kentucky with mules and horses, and of the rich, intimate knowledge of the land cultivated by this work.
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Vital. Timely. Timeless.
- By David M. on 06-15-20
By: Wendell Berry
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Twain’s Feast
- By: Audible Originals
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Mark Twain, beloved American writer, performer, and humorist, was a self-proclaimed glutton. With the help of a chef and some friends, Nick Offerman presents the story of Twain’s life through the lens of eight of Mark Twain’s favorite foods.
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Audible Recycling
- By Greg Hill on 11-17-18
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Shop Class as Soulcraft
- An Inquiry into the Value of Work
- By: Matthew B. Crawford
- Narrated by: Max Bloomquist
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Called "the sleeper hit of the publishing season" by The Boston Globe, Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant best seller, attracting fans with its radical (and timely) reappraisal of the merits of skilled manual labor. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a "knowledge worker," based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing.
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Hands and brain: a matching set
- By Amazon Customer on 01-07-20
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The Way I Heard It
- By: Mike Rowe
- Narrated by: Mike Rowe
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Emmy-award winning gadfly Mike Rowe presents a ridiculously entertaining, seriously fascinating collection of his favorite episodes from America’s number-one short-form podcast, The Way I Heard It, along with a host of memories, ruminations, and insights. It’s a delightful collection of mysteries. A mosaic. A memoir. A charming, surprising must-have. Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It collects 35 fascinating stories “for the curious mind with a short attention span”.
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I could listen to Mike read all day. And I am!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-15-19
By: Mike Rowe
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Every Tool's a Hammer
- Lessons from a Lifetime of Making
- By: Adam Savage
- Narrated by: Adam Savage
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Adam Savage is a maker. From Chewbacca’s bandolier to a 1,000-shot Nerf gun, he has built thousands of spectacular projects as a special-effects artist and the cohost of MythBusters. Adam is also an educator, passionate about instilling the principles of making in the next generation of inventors and inspiring them to turn their curiosity into creation. In this practical and passionate guide, Adam weaves together vivid personal stories, original sketches and photographs from some of his most memorable projects, and interviews with many of his iconic and visionary friends.
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I love Adam Savage and I returned this book
- By Shane Brown on 06-18-19
By: Adam Savage
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Yes Please
- By: Amy Poehler
- Narrated by: Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Amy Poehler is hosting a dinner party and you're invited! Welcome to the audiobook edition of Amy Poehler's Yes Please. The guest list is star-studded with vocal appearances from Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Michael Schur, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner, and even Amy’s parents - Yes Please is the ultimate audiobook extravaganza.
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Listen to this book for sure
- By S.F. on 10-31-14
By: Amy Poehler
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Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
- A Memoir
- By: Bob Odenkirk
- Narrated by: Bob Odenkirk, Steve Rudnick, Leo Benvenuti
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations - with a side trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know him - it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty. Featuring humorous tangents, wild characters, and Bob’s trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic tale told by a determined idiot.
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Not great
- By D. Moore on 04-12-22
By: Bob Odenkirk
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Old Venus
- A Collection of Stories
- By: George R.R. Martin - editor, Gardner Dozois - editor
- Narrated by: Diana Rigg, Full Cast, Michael Dorn, and others
- Length: 22 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction's top talents, collected by best-selling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois.
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Varied but overall solid
- By David on 09-20-15
By: George R.R. Martin - editor, and others
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Making It So
- A Memoir
- By: Patrick Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
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Incredible! So much more than a memoir
- By Jason on 10-04-23
By: Patrick Stewart
What listeners say about Gumption
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- deeeeeva
- 01-17-17
I like Nick, but...
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I don't think I would recommend it. I like Nick Offerman a lot as a performer. I found his analysis of historical documents to be more influenced by his personal politics than by the documents themselves.
What was most disappointing about Nick Offerman’s story?
The biggest disappointment was his misinterpretation of the First Amendment, particularly regarding the free exercise of religion. The Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Nick claims that this indicates that religion should not be anywhere in the public sphere. That is absolutely NOT what this says. It says that people who believe in a religion have the right to freely exercise it, and that everyone has the right to speech, press, and assembly. Meaning if I want to stand on public land and recite the 10 Commandments, or read the Koran, I am permitted to do so. Free exercise of religion is not the ABSENCE of religion. Such a misreading makes me highly suspect of the rest of his interpretations.
Could you see Gumption being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No.
Any additional comments?
I really loved his reading of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Alea Latimer
- 06-07-15
His story
I'm glad that I read Paddle Your Own Canoe first. It set a high standard that I don't think Gumption quite lived up to. A good book, but it felt a little 'preachy' at times. I learned about some fascinating people from a fascinating person and I definitely don't feel like any of my time was wasted.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Patrick
- 07-01-15
Educated, Quick Wit, Life Philosophy, & Wisdom
This was a quick and fun read intended to ignite the American spirit and make the reader laugh. Although I felt the book started off a little slow for my taste and went through some recycling of the topics concerning historical figures, it kept my attention overall.
Offerman writes about 21 personalities, both historical and alive; he believes have shown particular "gumption" in their thoughts, writings, and deeds. He mentions Conan O'Brien, Eleanor Roosevelt, George Washington, Willie Nelson and others whom I was glad to learn more about. The obvious commonality in all these people is a basic honorable-ness and penchant for doing good work. He's definitely got a man-crush on Wendell Berry, which he intersplices his admiration of him throughout the book.
Offerman's political views aren't hidden in this book, and those who are political junkies might not dig some of his beliefs and views. Yet, given the tone of his writing, it seems that he's not the type of person who has trouble admitting he's wrong on some topics as well.
Offerman narrates the book, and does a good job too.
Overall: This book is worth listening to, even if you disagree with his political views. It's best approached with an open and observing mindset. Plus, you'll learn something too; I know I did.
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- Jane Ciau
- 07-17-15
Ron Swanson!
He knows what he wants and what he believes in. He shares a bunch of information that intrigues you with each person he is writing about.
Great book!
Hearing Nick Offerman's voice isn't bad either.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Buretto
- 10-17-18
All the right enemies, but could have been better
I vaguely knew of Nick Offerman. I've seen him here and there, but was never motivated to buy his books. But looking at the the negative reviews here, and reading the contents filled with right wing paranoia, I figured I'd give him a shot. The truth is, he is opinionated, but not nearly as left wing as most of those reviewers would have you believe. But unfortunately, he's not nearly as interesting, either.
The first problem is not with the subjects themselves, but with the way they are presented. Some are done not nearly enough justice (Eleanor Roosevelt, Carol Burnett, Willie Nelson), some are so embarrassingly fawned over, that it's hard to resist pushback (Yoko Ono, Conan O'Brien, Theodore Roosevelt, Jeff Tweedy). He does reasonably well with Fredericks (Olmstead and Douglass) and Benjamin Franklin, but most of the others made me wish he'd just given me the name to check out myself. The most egregious hero worship may be for Teddy Roosevelt, though. He only touches on a few shortcomings, nearly completely ignoring his self-aggrandizing (that is, untruthful) military exploits, and his imperialist racism with regard to the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, Cuba and Puerto Rico. I don't mind glorifying "gumption", but let's make it warts and all.
The second is the comedy. To me, it's kind of pedestrian and cookie-cutter. I get that he's a man of the people, down-to-earth type, but it wears thin. And not to put too fine a point on it, a middle aged white man using black urban slang and dialect ironically is no less cringe-inducing than when it's done by a tone-deaf middle aged white man.
The truth is that I probably agree with Nick Offerman on 99% of social commentary which is presented in this book. I just wish it had been done either more humorously, or more interestingly.
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- zack bashaw
- 12-13-18
I learned so much!
I very much enjoyed every chapter and learned new things about every great person mentioned! Would definitely recommend this book to anyone!
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- William K. Becker
- 11-16-18
Great Stories except the Politics
I loved Nick's pacing and reading of his book. I didn't like the politics inserted into the book amidst the great stories and personal experiences.
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- T. Johnson
- 11-11-15
Genius
Nick Offerman's view on life is ace. So it was no surprise to see which human he admired.
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- Thaddeus
- 10-24-16
Right in the feels.
This one hit me right in the heart as a man who loves to work but has found himself mired in the 9 to 5 world with often too little to do.
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- Melody
- 09-27-15
I still like Nick Offerman
I so wanted to like this book. The first few chapters were great. However, over the course of the book - it seems more self-serving. I still like Nick Offerman.
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