Odd Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations [Hardcover]

Nancy Rica Schiff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2002

Who blows the bugle at the Kentucky Derby? Who dusts the dinosaur bones at the Smithsonian? Who sniffs dog breath for a living? Who measures the breasts of real models? ODD JOBS introduces you to the real people who perform these truly peculiar jobs. In 65 intimate portraits, photo essayist Nancy Rica Schiff captures the personalities and occupations of these oddball professionals, providing a short profile of each. A 20-year photography veteran, Schiff has spent the better half of that time discovering the behind-the-scenes people who do what others can't (or won't) do. No one can say that America isn't the home of the free, the brave, and the quirky, who will do almost anything to make an honest buck.• Profiles 65 of the most unique jobs in America.• Jobs include duck walker, coin polisher, doll doctor, and artificial inseminator.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The perfect coffee-table book . . . photographs will have party guests gabbing. . . . these portraits create an eccentric picture of the most creative of America's working class.” — The Boston Phoenix“ODD JOBS is a captivating photo essay on the people who make America tick.” —New York Post“Whatever you do for a living, it's got to be better than that [the job of the Diener] . . . a nifty book filled with striking portraits.” —Honolulu AdvertiservA terrific job of capturing the workers and their sometimes surreal environment . . . the punfully bad text is contagious. . . . a smiley little book.”—Entertainment Weekly“‘How'd You Like to Smell Armpits For a Living' was the headline, and they called the book ‘an entertaining description of wacky work assignments that make most folks' careers seem downright boring.'”—National Enquirer“You won't find these [excerpts] in the classifieds.” —Reader's Digest

From the Publisher

•Profiles 65 of the most unique jobs in America. •Jobs include duck walker, coin polisher, doll doctor, and artificial inseminator.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580084575
• ISBN-13: 978-1580084574
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 7.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,230 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

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars And you think *your* job was bad!, December 4, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Odd Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations (Hardcover)

While waiting for my wife to browse quilting books at Powell's book store, I wandered down an aisle and breezed through an entertaining book that caught my eye... Odd Jobs: Portraits Of Unusual Occupations by Nancy Rica Schiff.

Schiff came across a person with an unusual job one day... the official timekeeper at a horse race track. She then started wondering about other "unusual" jobs that people have, and set out to find those jobs and photograph the people who do them. The result is this book. It's not large, only 152 pages. The format is a set of opposite pages for each job. The description of the job and person is on the left, along with a picture of the job and person on the right. And we're talking some really unusual jobs... How about a condom tester held by a lady who is definitely old enough to be your grandmother? A person who milks venom from snakes. A mortuary beautician who prepares bodies for their "final viewing". Dog walker, bull inseminator, tampon tester... all things that need to be done, but you probably don't really think about (or *want* to think about) the people or skills it takes to do them.

So if you're feeling that your job is horrible and you'd like to do something different, take 15 minutes or so and glance through this book. You'll either come back with some new employment possibilities or figure out that your job isn't so bad after all!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternative careers, October 17, 2003

By 

joy nagy (new york, n.y. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Odd Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations (Hardcover)

I think this excellent book is appropriate for any reader teenager or beyond. At a time when jobs are scarce and people are searching for new employment, 'Odd Jobs' allows the reader, whether young or old, to become aware of a vast array of jobs that are inventive and alternative.
One must be resourcful during this ecomony. Odd Jobs is done with a sense of humor and captured the teenage market by having been selected by a panel of young librarians at the New York Public Library for their Teenage List 2003.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yikes!! People Really Do These Things For A Living!, October 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Odd Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations (Hardcover)

Funny and fascinating stuff. I bought four copies and two of them are intended for my twin teen granddaughters with the idea that it is funny and serious all at the same time. It will certainly open their career choices to "outside the box" occupations.

Yes, these are really funny things to read about. The sweetly proud faces tell of the pride of these holders of unusual jobs. I actually visited a packaging operation where ladies were testing condoms on steel "devices" and I was delighted to see a similar job shown in Ms. Schiff's hilarious book.

One reviewer myopically advised school librarians to not buy this book because it was for adults. That's pretty strange advice to this reader who was exposed to the French Impressionists and the wonders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other highly "adult" topics when I was a boy. This early appreciation for the unusual things in our world provided me with the freedom to choose from a bigger buffet of options. I used to sample a number of unusual occupations with pride instead of embarrassment. The beauty of Ms. Schiff's book is that it's both really funny and eye-opening at the same time. What could be a better occupation carousel of the unusual for a students wondering what they might want to be in life?

Buy it for your teenagers. It's a perfectly charming and meaty gift for all ages.

C. H.
Current author and former Ford plant 2nd shift "emblem slammer." (My job was to just snap the Ford Emblem under the hood ornament of every car leaving the Edgewater Assembly Plant.)