[u]Doing Nothing[/u] by Tom Lutz

[haha]

I don't remember who recommended this book, but whoever it was, thanks. 

Lutz is a boomer age academic. His book is a really interesting history of work and attitudes toward work in America, and to a lesser extent elsewhere. I have wanted to do little or nothing that could be deemed economically useful (other than speculate) for as long as I can remember. I have also felt a bit guilty about that attitude for as long as I can remember.

Apparently this conflict is the hallmark of a true slacker, as well as an accompanying tendency toward ironical detachment.

I don't think the book is exactly intended to be funny; but I find it hilarious because of the way it highlights the BS and contradictions of any approach to work life, be it the ironical approach of a slacker, or the apparently straight ahead approach of a captain of industry or Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

Rating **** for all slackers; possibly lower for other personality types.

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

Hey, don't feel bad, Ha. I pretty much always wanted to be a 19th century dandy, sans the dressing up, gay sex, and some of the laudanum consumption.

 

[Nords]

Just finished it. Great book.

I especially appreciate his comments on how he hated writing it. And by the time he got through the process, his slacker son (who inspired the writing) had jumped off the couch and immersed himself in his Hollywood career. Problem solved.

I'd rather be Ben Franklin than Oscar Wilde...

 

[donheff]

I got it too and enjoyed most the first half. But I left for vacation before I finished so I returned it to the library. Is the second half worth returning for?

 

[Nords]

Is the second half worth returning for?

I think so. I never knew the whole story about Jack Kerouac, the rest of the Beat generation, and the modern history.

If nothing else, read his characterization of George W. Bush as America's top slacker.