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Title: My Job, My Self : Work and Creation of the Modern Individual by Al Gini ISBN: 0-415-92635-1 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: April, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Thorough, Data-Filled, Academic Treatment of Modern Work
Comment: After finishing this book, all I can say is "wow." Mr. Gini is clearly one of the more knowledgeable people on the subject of work and its changing role in modern society. This book is masterfully well written and demonstrates a sound knowledge of the subject matter, which is presented in a very well thought out and logically presented manner. The scope of the subject matter being very broad, the author's ability to envelope it and treat so many aspects of it in such depth was really remarkable. There is an amazing amount of information presented within the book, a plethora of footnotes, and yet the book is not imposing - it is in fact rewarding because of all it.
While the entire book was fascinating, I thought that there were four chapters in particular that were outstanding. Chapter 7 "Women in the Workplace", Chapter 8 "Squeezing Time", Chapter 10 "Work Spend and Debt Syndrome", and Chapter 12 "The End of Work, is Rifkin Right?" all cover enough detail to be books of their own, Mr. Gini references many other books which do just that. "Women in the Workplace" explores the many remarkable facets of how the increasing penetration of women into the workforce has changed our society, and how society has driven those changes. "Squeezing Time" talks of the incredible shrinking of free time in modern society compared to those of years gone by. The author sees this as a natural extension of the Industrial Revolution, and has the data to back up this view. "Work Spend and Debt Syndrome" talks about the shift in society to one of people with lives to one of people as consumers. The similarities between this and "Bobos in Paradise" by Brooks is startling. Mr. Gini demonstrates qualitatively and quantitatively how we have become a consumer society, and shows us what exactly that means. "The End of Work, is Rifkin Right?" is an amazing chapter (partly because I agree with his points very strongly) in which the author looks at the some of the questions posed by Mr. Jeremy Rifkin and Mr. Robert Heilbroner in their 1996 book. Their main point had been that the increase in productivity caused by the personal computer had yet to fully ripple through the workplace, and that as it did so we would see waves of greater and greater unemployment. Mr. Gini takes a look at this view four years later, and is cautious to not deliver an aggressive verdict.
One of the more interesting things I found about this book, other than the points that the author brought forth and the views of society that he projected, was that it almost had a self-help aspect to it. There is an amazing amount of comfort behind statistics in which "85% of all workers felt __", especially when the blank is filled in with something you feel as well. In that manner, there were parts of this book that evoked similar themes to "A Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, something that completely surprised me. This is by no means a central tenement to the text, but its effect was certainly worth noting, and really added strongly to the value of the book.
I couldn't recommend this book anymore strongly. It would be of great value to anyone who is working, trying to figure out what they should be doing with their lives, or is looking to do research on the changing role of work within society. This is an outstanding book.
Rating: 1
Summary: weak effort
Comment: This book didn't impress me. It failed to convince me that the author knows anything special about the topic. Sometimes people in academia just kick back in their ivory towers and postulate and pontificate instead of rolling up their sleeves and getting the old hands dirty. "Live in dirt" someone once said to me; your world view will be the better for it. This book is a waste of time! Go read "Working" by Studs Terkel. Now that is a piece of WORK!
Rating: 5
Summary: Work -- love it or hate it
Comment: Work is something virtually all of us do, and for a huge percentage of our adult waking lives. Few, however, have subjected the institution and concept of work to philosophical scrutiny--Al Gini breaks that pattern, with his insightful, smooth-reading work "My Job My Self". He dissects work from a variety of different angles and perspectives, sharing all of the cutting-edge research on the topic from a variety of disciplinary resources, all the while making it easy to understand, relevant, and a pleasure to read.
I'd recommend this book to anyone -- currently working, soon to work, or retired. It will push many buttons, and make you think about something going on all around you in a new light.
Reading "My Job My Self" is certainly not work!
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Title: The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and Vacation by Al Gini ISBN: 0415938791 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Working Life : The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work by Joanne B. Ciulla ISBN: 0609807374 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 20 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Social Work Treatment 4th Edition by Francis J. Turner ISBN: 0684829940 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet by Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, William Damon ISBN: 0465026087 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: Occupational Outlook Handbook 2002-2003 (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2002 2003 (Paper)) by Us Department of Labor, U S Department of Labor ISBN: 1563708493 Publisher: Jist Works Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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