American Nerd: The Story of My People [Hardcover]

Benjamin Nugent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2008

Now in paperback, “one of the season’s most talked about cultural studies” (Los Angeles Times)—an incisive and irrever- ent appreciation of nerds that combines history, sociology, psy- chology, and memoir from noted journalist and self-proclaimed nerd Ben Nugent.

Most   people   know   a nerd  when  they  see one,   but   yet   can’t define just what a nerd is exactly.  American Nerd: The Story of My People gives readers the history of the concept of nerdiness and its related subcultures. What makes Dr. Frankenstein the archetypal nerd? Where did the modern jock come from? When and how did being a self-described nerd become trendy? As the nerd emerged in the nineteenth century, and popped up again and again in college humor journals and sketch comedy, our culture obsessed over the phenomenon. 

“Part history, part memoir, and all funny” (GQ), American Nerd is critically acclaimed writer Benjamin Nugent’s enter- taining fact-finding mission. He seeks the best definition of nerd and illuminates the com- mon ground between nerd sub- cultures that might seem unre- lated: high-school debate team kids and ham radio enthusiasts, medieval reenactors and pro- circuit videogame players. Why do the same people who like to work with computers also enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons? How are those activi- ties similar? This clever, enlight- ening book will appeal to the nerd (and anti-nerd) that lives  inside everyone.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In his charming and disarmingly serious study of the history of the nerd in popular culture and throughout modern history, Nugent (Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing) succeeds in crafting a nuanced discussion without resorting to smugness or excessive cleverness. His prose is straightforward, but the writing is never dry, as Nugent maintains a brisk pace by chasing an entertaining series of tangents across short chapters. Discrete pockets of nerd-dom are carefully observed and analyzed, with an eye for connections that lead to unusual places. While there are engaging sections about more obvious nerd subjects like the rise of online gaming and the history of American science-fiction clubs, Nugent takes his book in surprising directions, such as the ethnic implications of the nerd categorization, particularly in regard to Jewish and Asian stereotypes. In one chapter, Nugent finds correspondence between nerdiness and people with Asperger's syndrome, astutely drawing comparisons between the socializing problems experienced by both groups and positing that many of those considered nerds historically might in fact be on the autism spectrum. Another unexpected detour, this one into the intense subculture of high school and college debaters, turns into an extraordinarily poignant meditation on the friendships engendered by shared passions. Swinging ably from personal anecdotes to historical perspective, Nugent's exploration of outcasts is a triumph. (May)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Many readersâ€"self-identified nerds or notâ€"will find American Nerd a smart, entertaining cultural history-memoir. Peppered with examples from literature, television, academia, and pop culture, the book successfully portrays a subculture that has been ridiculed, scorned, and admired (think of the nerds emerging from Silicon Valley, for example). Critics agreed that Nugent’s discussion of nerdiness and Asperger’s hit the mark, though his analysis of “cool nerds” and of nerdiness and race raised some debate. A few also pointed out glaring omissions: Where are Bill Gates, George Lucas, and The Simpsons characters? How do female nerds fit into the picture? How does nerd love differ from “normal” love? “Perhaps Nugent will tackle these issues in another book,” notes the Christian Science Monitor. “Nerds, after all, love sequels.”
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1ST edition (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743288017
• ISBN-13: 978-0743288019
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, and now I have an apartment in Brooklyn but I spend more time in Los Angeles. When I was a nerdy child I would think, 'how come there's not a history of this name people shout at me when they throw things at me?' I started out as a reporter at Time, and I've written for The New York Times Magazine, Time, New York, and n+1, among other places. My favorite part of writing American Nerd was tracking down my friends from junior high and interviewing them about their lives and how they remembered our clique.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Baffling. One of us ... but not, July 16, 2008

By 

Cynthia Ewer "Housewife Webmaster" (Richland, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Nerd: The Story of My People (Hardcover)

I'm a 53-year-old grandmother with impeccable Nerd credentials, and I looked forward to this book.

Having finished it, I'm baffled.

Why, when the subdeck proclaims "The Story of My People", does the author spend the final chapter making it ULTRA-clear that he hasn't numbered among us since the age of 14? At that time, he asserts, he became "cool".

Okay, I get it. Coming out as a nerd could be hazardous to your self-esteem, career prospects and continued marketability as a media hipster ... but I really resented the last-chapter renunciation.

Turning to the book, it's an enjoyable read, if a bit constrained by the writer's place in time. Oh, yes, he covers D&D ... but what about the 60's precursors, wargames? The treatment of the place of science fiction is truncated to 80's-kid sensibility; the author obviously missed those of us baby boomers who came to self-awareness as 60's-era library kids, scarfing up Asimov and Heinlein's YA titles (over the strenuous objections of school librarians, teachers and parents).

Bottom line: the book is interesting but too restricted to one writer's sensibility. Reach a bit, and you may touch the core of nerdness, but not in the limited cultural icons this author parades.

Are you a nerd? I am. And as an author, I don't have any puerile need to distance myself from the title.

Too bad this writer can't OWN the "people" he claims to document.

Is "hip" really worth your soul, honey?

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not quite what I expected, June 21, 2008

By 

Hilary - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Nerd: The Story of My People (Hardcover)

The title was extremely intriguing, I'll admit. A treatise on the nerd? Can't say I've seen it done before, but I haven't really searched for such a thing, either.

His bias as a childhood nerd clearly affects his writing, but I didn't find said bias to be intolerable, either. Just be aware that it is very much evident in the first part of the book.

Nugent nicely outlines the history of the nerd and gives a comprehensive definition of what he considers a nerd (very loosely, a person strongly attracted to the rational and the definitive) and why society-at-large shuns nerds.

My favorite part of the book was the section entitled "The cool nerd: superficial reflections on the hipster." (His coverage of this is somewhat amusing, given that the hipster adoption of nerdiness provides the book's marketed audience, imo.)

I was rather dissatisfied that he never addressed the difference between the geek and the nerd--he even discusses the show Freaks and Geeks, but never the difference (is there a difference?) between terms such as "geek," "dork," and "nerd."

My primary issues with the book are with its structure and the lack of certain content. I found that the book seemed to jump from subject to subject, with only a loose connection occurring from chapter to chapter. I suspect I would've enjoyed it much more had I read only a chapter at a time. Secondly, for a book that purports to be "the story of my people," he largely neglects the female nerd.

I really wanted to like the book, but I found it too dis-connected and personal. It's not at all poorly written, but it just wasn't to my taste.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many Surprises, May 15, 2008

By 

Grace Kornfield - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Nerd: The Story of My People (Hardcover)

Nugent weaves analysis of history, literature, and sociology with reporting, and personal experience to create a multidimensional perspective on what it means in to be a nerd in this culture. He looks at stereotypes, cultural assumptions and their impact on people who tend to be better at activities that don't demand mastery of subtle social interaction and nuance. He reports on a variety of group activities enjoyed by this population and explores some of the psychological benefits of belonging to such groups. As he ponders some of the effects of anti-nerd sentiment and reflects on himself and his childhood friends, he provides an analysis that is poignant, funny, thought provoking, and compassionate. I laughed and cried as I moved through it. I recommend this book to anyone seeking a more complex understanding of a far reaching and often shallow social construction.