The Urban Hermit: A Memoir and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
More Buying Choices
61 used & new from $2.79

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Urban Hermit: A Memoir
 
 
Start reading The Urban Hermit: A Memoir on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

The Urban Hermit: A Memoir (Hardcover)

~ Sam Macdonald (Author)
Key Phrases: porn shops, rainbow gathering, sock puppet, John Stafford, Army Times, Rob Gould (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

List Price: $24.95
Price: $16.47 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $8.48 (34%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Thursday, November 12? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
36 new from $3.59 25 used from $2.79

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition $14.57 -- --
  Hardcover $16.47 $3.59 $2.79
  Paperback $10.12 $10.12 --

Frequently Bought Together

The Urban Hermit: A Memoir + Wishful Drinking + Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach
Price For All Three: $36.71

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Urban Hermit: A Memoir by Sam Macdonald

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach by Meryl Gordon

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Disquiet (Penguin Original)

Disquiet (Penguin Original)

by Julia Leigh
3.6 out of 5 stars (18)  $9.36
The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

by Shauna Reid
4.6 out of 5 stars (41)  $10.07
Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach

Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach

by Meryl Gordon
3.2 out of 5 stars (100)  $10.17
Split: A Memoir of  Divorce

Split: A Memoir of Divorce

by Suzanne Finnamore
4.7 out of 5 stars (29)  $4.62
Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir

Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir

by Jennette Fulda
4.4 out of 5 stars (50)  $10.85
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

His diet plan wouldn't make it on Oprah, his lifestyle change wouldn’t be touted by Dr. Phil, and Alan Greenspan wouldn’t touch his financial solvency plan with a 10-foot pole. But for MacDonald, the need to retire a mountain of debt and lose a massive amount of weight were essentially one and the same problem. Reasoning that by solving one, he could fix the other, MacDonald decided to eat less and, more importantly, drink less, taking the money he saved on food and alcohol to pay off his creditors. He traded in his shots and beers for boiled lentils and canned tuna. Instead of partying with his college buddies, he paid more attention to his journalism career, traveling around the world and across the country in pursuit of plum, often quirky, assignments. One hundred sixty pounds later, MacDonald found he suddenly had grown up once he stopped going, and growing, out. Outrageous, offbeat, with an infectious can-do optimism, MacDonald offers a dedicated, if slightly demented, approach to self-improvement. --Carol Haggas


Review

"Hilarious and truly bizarre....like a weight-loss manual written by Hunter Thompson or financial planning advice from Charles Bukowski."  --Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad.   "Sam MacDonald is a strong new voice in the field of creative nonfiction. His book tells the compelling story of a man, obsessed with weight loss, haunted by demons, overcoming all obstacles and achieving a significant goal.  It is powerful reading in direct and down-to-earth prose." --Lee Gutkind author, ALMOST HUMAN: Making Robots Think "Raw and brutally honest, Sam McDonald has a way of grabbing you by the throat and demanding that you stay with him on his wild and hilarious romp of self-reinvention.  Read this book for the powerful storytelling, read it for the laughs, read it for the privilege of getting to know a charming new voice--read it for the quiet rumble of hope McDonald so masterfully imbeds within these pages." – Jeanne Marie Laskas, author of Growing Girls: The Mother of All Adventures

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press (November 25, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312376995
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312376994
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

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

Visit Amazon's Samuel A. Macdonald Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Urban Hermit: A Memoir
90% buy the item featured on this page:
The Urban Hermit: A Memoir 4.2 out of 5 stars (9)
$16.47
Wishful Drinking
3% buy
Wishful Drinking 3.4 out of 5 stars (150)
$10.07
Hermits; The Insights of Solitude
3% buy
Hermits; The Insights of Solitude 4.5 out of 5 stars (8)
The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl
2% buy
The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl 4.6 out of 5 stars (41)
$10.07

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable & Easy Read, December 4, 2008
By Paul Kronenberg (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read The Urban Hermit in a couple of hours and found that Sam MacDonald has a very engaging, honest, funny and captivating style of writing and speaking to the reader. In the introduction, he states that:"I was a big, fat bastard. No excuses. No complaints. That's just the way I was."He was having a good time, drinking, eating and hanging out. Things probably would have continued for another 10 years, had not bills and credit card debt began to get out of hand.From that point, he takes the reader along with him on his journey. I was especially amazed at his ability to stick to a radical change in eating and living, that he devised.Perhaps he didn't have any choice or maybe his inate self-respect made it hard to look for an easy way out. Memoirs often give the opportunity to walk with someone in their shoes. This particular memoir is special because the author is a good guy to hang out with. By the end of the book, I was happy that his hard work had found him with much to be thankful for.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Really Enjoyable Read , December 15, 2008
The Urban Hermit is a quick, clever, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny book. Sam MacDonald is in his late 20s when the life that he's always enjoyed (drinking, hanging out, not really caring about money) comes to a grinding halt when he discovers how much money he owes to the IRS and credit card companies. He decides to try an "urban hermit" plan for month, where he exists on the cheapest food possible (tuna, eggs and lentils) while saving up money to pay his creditors back. Unlike a lot of other memoirs where the author decides to follow some self-improvement plan for a year, MacDonald originally plans on being an urban hermit for only a month. Due to a series of unforeseen events, he ends up being an urban hermit (with some breaks) for many, many months. During that time, we see him travel to Bosnia for a reporting job, bust a porn shop for illegal viewing booths, save a trailer park, travel to a huge hippie gathering in Montana, get what sounds like his first real girlfriend, and various other adventures. MacDonald's style of writing is perfect for a book like this, and he has a way of describing situations and scenes that will make you laugh out loud. The parts where he is attempting to cook the lentils and traveling to Montana in a VW Bus are particularly funny. If you are from Maryland or the DC area, you will enjoy familiar sights being mentioned in the book.

The book around 280 pages, but is a very fast read. MacDonald is a sympathetic, likeable character and his discipline is admirable. One warning - because I know some people don't like this - there is a fair amount of drug use in the book, so if you are squeamish about that, be forewarned. If you don't care, then dive right in!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a diet book :)!, April 27, 2009
By Robynn (Seattle, WA.) - See all my reviews
I enjoyed the book but had a hard time giving 4 stars. I didnt want to do three because it is a very engaging book but when u compare the read to some fantastic books out there 4 stars seemed a little much. Anyways,this is a fast and enjoyable read. He is very engaging and I like the different events he writes about that are not directly related to his frugal 'diet'....I just had a hard time with the notion that he,coming from such a large size (obviously with a pre-occupation with food) could so easily not suffer greatly or think about food more often. Moreover, he kept saying that this began in order to save money and not to loose weight; why would he then refuse free food offers? I did read the book very fast, maybe I missed something ;)...
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Tho' Somewhat Contrived
Sam MacDonald's book is an easy read. It is both entertaining and amusing. His story and adventures are well told but... Read more
Published 3 months ago by T. Ayres

5.0 out of 5 stars An original, hilarious romp
A stumbled upon this book on a trip through the small town of Ridgway, PA, alerted to it by a fun, counter-culture couple that makes the best bread I ever tasted. Read more
Published 4 months ago by John S. Marr MD

3.0 out of 5 stars Extreme
I was excited by the Author's concept- 8.00 a day for food- frugality and a weight loss plan, sounds like a great book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Blaker

5.0 out of 5 stars Debt Reduction and Drastic Dieting Delight and Deliver
Fat, broke and sunk to borrowing money from his parents to make student loan payments, journalist Sam MacDonald dreams up the Urban Hermit plan. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. O'Malley

5.0 out of 5 stars required reading
The Urban Hermit was totally hilarious and got me through my train ride like no other book. After hitting bottom financially, MacDonald is forced to concoct a crazy idea to save... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Taha Ebrahimi

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a diet book, really!
A very charming book about living within your means and realizing what is important in life. I highly recommend this one.
Published 8 months ago by Mary L. Jacobs

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.