American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds [Hardcover]

James Maguire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

What the bestselling Word Freak did for Scrabble, this riveting narrative now does for the National Spelling Bee. Here is a captivating slice of Americana - part sporting event, part absorbing human drama, and part celebration of the magic of words.

Every spring in the nation's capital, after a starting pool of 10 million kids narrows to 250 finalists, America's top young spellers face off in a nail-biting contest. So electric is the drama that millions of viewers tune in to watch ESPN's live telecast

But this national obsession is much more than a sporting story - and this first-ever narrative nonfiction book about the National Spelling Bee immerses the reader in unique subculture, portraying the endearing fraternity of brilliant, eccentric young word nerds who vie for a gold trophy, a hefty check, and a glorious moment of national fame.

Author James Maguire, who like the contestants is an inveterate word nut, captures the agony and glory of this singularly American event. He profiles the top five spellers across the country, exploring their hopes and dreams - and strategies for winning - as they prepare for their moment in the spotlight. American Bee takes readers behind the scenes at the National Bee, providing a narrative thrill ride as the tension mounts round by round.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To the fans-those who've caught the ESPN broadcast of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee or the documentary Spellbound, among other outlets for the increasingly popular competition-Maguire's efforts to enliven his esoteric subject matter may prove superfluous, but his deft portrayal of the heart-stopping competition the Bee inspires will certainly catch the attention of the uninitiated. His profiles of the young spellers are amusing, occasionally touching and always impressive. The spellers' affinity for language leads to some great feats: David Tidmarsh, the 2004 champion, studied the entire Webster's Unabridged dictionary; Samir Patel, the 2005 runner-up, studied word lists all day, even while eating. Maguire's adulation for the spellers at times leads to excessive description, a problem complicated by the number of competitors, though his focus does eventually hone in on ten spellers competing in the 2005 Bee. His portraits of these spellers' preparations and personalities-Samir Patel's charming on-stage presence or Kerry Close's latent competitiveness-gives the reader ample reason to play favorites, giving the book a welcome touch of suspense. In addition, an impassioned description of the evolution of language in America sheds a new light on the Bee, and the worthiness of these competitive spellers' alacrity for the subject.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Maguire, author of Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan (2006), gives voice to our current national obsession with spelling bees. Focusing on the annual National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C., which features 250 finalists chosen from an initial pool of 10 million, Maguire paints a vivid portrait of the unique culture surrounding the event and its "geek chic" overtones. In clear, accessible prose, he gives the contest the high drama of a sporting event while profiling five extremely bright, precocious participants and their diverse ethnic backgrounds. As the stress of the competition kicks in, spellers variously faint, shout their words, clutch talismans, and hyperventilate. Maguire also details the history of spelling bees and of the English language and reveals the logic behind the compilation of the master list used in the national competition. What comes through most clearly here is the truly democratic nature of the bee and its spellers--the kids come from all kinds of schools, towns, ethnicities, and class levels--and the impassioned love of language that drives them. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594862141
• ISBN-13: 978-1594862144
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #787,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From One Who Knows, October 4, 2006

By 

Henry Feldman (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds (Hardcover)

Up front I will confess my prejudice about this book: I'm in it, albeit as a minor historical character. For me the spring months of 1958, 1959, and 1960 were largely taken up by study of word lists, culminating in three shots at the National Spelling Bee.

But James Maguire mostly has fresher fish to fry: real time spent with real kids who compete in the modern Bee, lately popularized through television broadcasts on ESPN and ABC. If teenaged kids and their strivings to find identity and accomplishment have any appeal for you, you will enjoy this account.

This has been a very good year for spelling bees. ABC put the 2006 final rounds on prime-time TV. The film "Akeelah and the Bee" vividly captured the home-front and on-stage drama of the Bee, taking off where the 2002 documentary "Spellbound" left off. Starbucks promoted the film with an attractive sprinkling of coasters, coffee collars, mugs, and flashcards decorated with foot-long winning words from the national Bee. The musical "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" continues to play on Broadway and in regional companies.

Now James Maguire gives us a broad and entertaining journalistic book on the subject. He profiles five competitors in depth, having befriended them, visited their homes, and hung out with them among family and friends as they balance "normal" schoolwork and activities with the single-minded pursuit of exotic words and etymology. He follows them to the national competition in Washington, which equals any major-league sporting event in risk and suspense. In between episodes, to break the tension, he light-heartedly fills us in on the mottled history of English words and dictionaries, making it clear how and why we reached the hopeless confusion of modern spelling.

Maguire is an engaging writer and does complete justice to the Bee experience. He brings out the themes of ambition, concentration, luck, anxiety, coping with failure, and support of family as they play out over the considerable age range of the competitors -- anywhere between 9 and 14. Just as most of us enjoy sports dramas whether or not we ever kicked a ball straight, I believe all of us, former spellers or not, can recognize ourselves in these kids as they set an impossible goal and go for it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, September 11, 2006

By 

Jacqueline Grossman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds (Hardcover)

Maguire does a stellar job engaging the reader's interest in the characters. He does more than interview them, he spends time with their families, learns their hopes, dreams and fears, which puts many an adult to shame with their incredible work ethic and study habits. We learn that the kids are not automatons but well-rounded kids who often excel in many subjects. For anyone who has competed in competitions, one can appreciate the drive and loneliness one incurs in working towards a goal. There is definite drama and as an excellent speller, I came away impressed with the kids' abilities and determination. The book is not a narrative, there are interviews with prior champions and a history of the English language included. I wholeheartedly recommend American Bee.
-- Jacqueline and Jeremy

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the Bee experience!, January 2, 2007

By 

Burt (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds (Hardcover)

James Maguire has written a fascinating account of the National Spelling Bee in American Bee. The work discusses the broad history of the spelling bee in America, focusing on the National Spelling Bee, as well as bringing us stories of particular spellers. As someone who's made it to "the show" as a finalist (86 and 87), this book really resonated with me. The essential speller experience -- hours spent drilling words; the thrill of (and sometimes disbelief at) winning a regional bee; the excitement of the big event in Washington DC; the camaraderie of the spellers; the gut-wrenching nervousness waiting on-stage; the agony of being eliminated; and the aftermath -- these are all accurately recounted in the book and brought back great memories.