Customer Reviews

The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation's Most Ordinary Citizen

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In The Average American author Kevin O'Keefe chronicles his attempt to discover the archetypical resident of the United States, that one man or woman whose quantifiable attributes, preferences, and living conditions are as close to "normal" as possible (normal as determined by the 2000 census and a number of other polls and reports). O'Keefe arrived at a list of 140 criteria that his Average American had to meet, most of them suggested to him by conversations he had with regular folk while traveling around the country on his quest. In the end, the identity of O'Keefe's quintessential American came as a surprise to him, and makes for a very tidy finish to the book, particularly given O'Keefe's secondary motive in undertaking the project. The author portrays himself in the book as an unduly competitive, unlikable type-A character who's never accepted average performance from himself, who's racked up accomplishments not so much because he enjoyed himself in the doing, but because he needed to be better than everyone else. He suggests that in finding the average American he may find as well something that's been missing in himself.

O'Keefe's chronicle is certainly interesting, sprinkled as it is with statistical tidbits which readers will inevitably want to measure themselves against. (The average American falls asleep within seven minutes of going to bed and eats three pounds of peanut butter annually.) And there is a certain frisson in the idea that every American reading the book was, for a short time at least, at the beginning of the project, a candidate for O'Keefe's Everyman.

Except.... Except that some of O'Keefe's candidates were more equal than others. Among the criteria he uses to winnow out the un-average Joes are two geographical filters that alone knock much of the country out of consideration. O'Keefe required that his Average American live in the eastern or central time zones and that he or she live no more than 100 miles from the shore. Residents of California, for example, never really had a chance. O'Keefe similarly applies various political criteria to his candidates. The Average American, for example, is required to live in a state that is represented by at least one Democratic senator (as most Americans do). Thus the majority of O'Keefe's sifting of candidates is done by applying to the population criteria that are external to the individual. Whole communities, whole swaths of the country are thrown out on political or geographical grounds. It would have made for a far more interesting project and book if all of O'Keefe's criteria were instead centered on the individual. As it is, it feels as if much of the population was removed from consideration unfairly.

Two other small additions would have made for a better book. First, I would have appreciated the inclusion of a series of maps in which areas being removed from consideration were shaded out. And it would have been more fun if O'Keefe's 140 criteria were presented in checklist form rather than in paragraphs.

By now you'll be wondering whether your intrepid reviewer comes close to meriting the appellation of Average American. Decidedly not! My annual consumption of eggs and peanut butter is on the low side, and I buy far fewer clothes per year than most. I can't be certain, moreover, but my guess is that I won't be losing twelve of my teeth over the next nine years.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Is it possible to find someone who ranks as the most average person in America? That is the task of the author as he takes the reader across the United States in search of this most average of all people. First he starts at the Census Bureau to discover what qualifies as average. From there the actual search begins. Throughout the book the author narrows his search by expanding his criteria as tries to find this person by finding an average town, a commonly named street, an average religious belief, average marital relationship, etc. He even finds several very interesting relationships such as the average person lives within two miles of a park, three miles of a McDonalds and twenty minutes of a Wal-Mart. This is actually an interesting view into America and the American people and mindset. The Average American makes interesting reading and is a recommended read.

In Kevin O'Keefe's book, we discover an unusal methodology for finding the average American. Using demographic facts and figures, we find through a process of elimination that being average is really only a small percentage of people, which in turn makes them rare and unique. This exercise in exploration shifts your perspective of what average really means, where "ok" suddently means "exceptional".

This is most definately a timely book, as Americans struggle to stand out from the rest. This national obsession has lead to many being the same (although they will claim they are alternative). However, maybe being average is EXACTLY how to go about being different.

Last, this is a great book if you enjoy character driven and conversation based books. It is an easy read that keeps you moving and keeps it light. I enjoyed every page of it.

The premise of this book is fascinating. O'Keefe set out to define the "average American" and to find an individual who met that set of criteria. He traveled around the country interviewing people about what made someone average and used census and other demographic and polling data to narrow it down.

The best parts of this book are the parts that explore the stats about "averageness" in our country and debunk many myths. It's fun for the reader to compare yourself to "average," because, of course, very few of us are average in everything.

The trouble is that O'Keefe doesn't spend a whole lot of time on this stuff. He spends a huge amount of space on the various people he interviews and their lives, and frankly they aren't that interesting. He also does a lot of wandering off exploring his own experience and others' perceptions of the good and bad of being labeled "average." Again, this just isn't that interesting.

This is an easy read and was certainly a worthwhile research project. But if you're looking for an exploration of the facts and figures of what makes an American "average," you're going to be bored by this book.

I heard about this book relatively late in it's life on Michael Feldman's "Whad'Ya know?" in late January 2008. Like most of the reviews I have read, the emphasis on the show was about the statistics. The statistics are both fun and important.

But this book is more about Kevin O'Keefe and discovery. The book has buried tidbits about what life is all about. Kevin really took a journey of self awareness and I found many tidbits about life and what is really important in life buried in the pages of this book.

One could read a book about Buddhism and have these points brought across to them. Or they can read this readable book with fun facts that we all know are part of our lives, and learn about ourselves and life along the way.

The purpose of this discovery is uncovered by one of the individuals in the book. Most readers will figure this out before this section anyway. And where the book ends makes perfectly logical sense based on who wrote the book. One might call it poetic justice and be careful what you put on a T-shirt.

Besides which, I found my self penciling in numbers that depicted my life in the margins near the numbers and values Kevin used to define the average American. I did not fit his definition to well, living most of my adult life 300+ miles from home and eating lots of chunky peanut butter. Thus, I weigh about 10 pounds over the average limit.

I would suggest you buy the book and sharpen your pencil and have a go at it and discover yourself.

If you are an Amazon buyer you are probably not average, and Amazon reviewers even less so. I was compelled to buy this book simply on the premise that it would be interesting to learn what "average" was. I was NOT expecting an uplifting book that inspired reflection about what it means to be a good man, a good citizen, a good husband and father, and that is what this book is.

Yes, it would have benefitted from maps as well as a statistical table and a calendar of the search, and I would normally have given it four stars for lacking those "visualization & closure" elements, but I simply cannot get over the fact that this book made me feel good about America and good about the standard run of the mill American.

The idiocy and mendacity of our leaders aside, this is a great Nation, and I have tears in my eyes as I conclude the book, where the man chosen by the author as the average American, informed on the 4th of July, properly concludes that it is a great honor. Honor indeed. This is a superb book.

This book keeps you interested. The search for the average american keeps narrowing and so builds your curiousity. The author travels the country on his quest, so its more about his experiences than a bunch of numbers.

This is an interesting journey for a man who sets out to find the average American. There are many interesting anecdotes about what being average actually is or is not. The problem is that many people are knocked out of the running by circumstances outside themselves. I lost my averageness right off the top by living in a state with two Republican Senators. No way could I re enter the club with the fact my income is almost exactly median.

On the other hand I would have been knocked out by my own hand eventually. For instance, I like crunchy peanut butter better than smooth.

This is a frivolous book, but entertaining.

The author works hard to build suspense in his final selection of "J. Average", the Average American. He also selectively reveals elements of his own life story to add focus to his project. On both counts, the book failed to capture my interest.
I enjoyed the first three chapters of this book- then I realized that the structure was choppy but repetitive. Had the author condensed the first and last chapters into an essay, it would have been memorable. As published, I skimmed large sections in the middle of the book and don't feel that I missed anything.