Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The writing is by temps, who tell the whole truth about temp, November 27, 1998
By A Customer
Best of Temp Slave by Jeff Kelly Garrett County Press; ISBN: 1891053426This entertaining little book includes over 30 hilarious essays, along with numerous cartoons and comics about temping. The writing is by temps, who tell the whole truth about temping. They also offer great advice for temps on how to get even with the bosses. Definitely not a rose-colored-glasses view of temping or work in non-union, corporate dominated America. This book covers the daily grind of insecurity, humiliation, and insult that temps endure. Instead of dream world advice, Temp Slave contains advice based upon real world experience, where neither the temp agencies or their clients give a flying damn about the temp, except for the mega-bucks we generate for them. It is very refreshing to read a book by temps and for temps that show how many temps feel the abused. Best of Temp Slave lets temps see how they are not alone or aberrant in their feelings of abuse and insult. This book is an excellent contribution to the task of re-creating the worker solidarity that is necessary to overturn abusive working conditions in corporate dominated America.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, weird., October 18, 1998
By A Customer
Brutal and funny from start to finish, Best of TS! showed me office life from the pov of the temps that keep shuffling in and out. There's also some interesting stuff about French labor practices and working construction jobs. Much better than the publisher's description would lead you to believe. Studs Terkel was right on in recommending this book.It does lose a star, however, for some unfortunate typos.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
See how low temp employees can go in this book., October 21, 1998
By A Customer
In an era of downsizing, rightsizing and mergers, American employees have taken a beating. Never has that been more evident than in this supposidly humorous portrayal of temps (temporary employees) in the workplace today. Brief stories, comic strips and essays relay the plight of temps in their own words. Jeff Kelly admirably tries to give temps a voice through his zine and in this book. But what's here are endlessly wining, devious and downright hostile tales of employees, which I found horrifying. You'll read about major supply rip-offs (as if it's okay to steal because you're a temp and not treated like you want); nasty attitudes; plots to disrupt work and harm others; misplaced mail plots, and on and on. You'll also have the displeasure of reading dark comics that are riddled with anger and hate. I've been a temp, and I do think there are plenty of problems with temp agencies and how companies treat temps. But most of the temps featured in this book obviously don't want to do anything constructive about the situation. They just want to squeeze all they can from their assignments and irritate as many people as possible. Okay, one or two of the stories are funny. And alas, at least Kelly has provided a forum for temps, and in doing that, one could argue he's being constructive and his book is serving a purpose. But I found it a real downer.
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