AMERICAN NERD – THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE

author:
BENJAMIN NUGENT

Non-fiction
224 pages
Scribner

We are all too familiar with the American Nerd. We have either found solace in their ranks, or ridiculed them (or worse) for their lack of style and grace as well as their penchant for social ineptitude.

The American Nerd has always walked among us, and in his book, American Nerd, Benjamin Nugent attempts to trace the origins of the Nerd through personal experience (he is a self-proclaimed Nerd himself) and historical references (he classifies Thomas Jefferson as an “Aspie”, or one who suffers from Asperger Syndrome) alongside some witty media analysis.

The book begins by answering, What is the “American Nerd?” Their classification is twofold, either: 1) a machine-like nerd, or 2) the nerd that becomes so for a variety of reasons, namely social exclusion. From there he explores such topics as Effeminate Jews, the Jock vs. Nerd phenomenon (”Jocks only think about sports, nerds only think about sex” we learned from Revenge of the Nerds), Square Pegs, Debate Teams, Nerd Love, and, of course, the healthy obsession with Dungeons and Dragons. Man, Rivers Cuomo would love this book.

While many of the stories contained within its pages relate to the author’s personal experiences as a child throughout his awkward teen years, the book shines thanks to Nugent’s exhaustive research and fact-finding interviews.

No matter what your place is or was on the social food chain, you’ll find many a chuckle in American Nerd. In fact, you just may find yourself hiking up your trousers and applying a healthy dose of tape to those thick glasses of yours.

purchase at Amazon.com