Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

Nick Offerman is humble, intelligent witty, and funny which can all be seen while reading this book. Extremely intelligent with a dark sense of humor underneath, this book is educational, humorous, and interesting. Nick explores the heroes of our history and debunks many myths along the way while also sharing his opinions from time to time. Love it

this book caught my attention because Offerman interviewed or wrote about some of my favorite people - Laurie Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barney Frank - but I learned so much about so many others. true, he goes off topic sometimes but it all circles around and relates. he opened my eyes about my prejudices against Yoko Ono and Tom Laughlin, and introduced me to some new characters about whom I hope to read more. I love this book and all the people in it. THANKS, Nick!

Good book, love his writing style. Very relatable and funny as heck. Learned a lot about some awesome Americans like Fredrick Douglas and George Washington. Don't like the white male shaming, but over the years I have gotten used to it. Less Yoko please.

The premise of this book was interesting, to say the least. But it largely falls flat in the end. I believe his choice of characters was appropriate, for the most part, and Offerman had interesting things to say about them all. But while the humor was mostly genuine, it occasionally lapsed into small bits of vulgarity which just seemed somehow "out of place".

The largest distraction to my full enjoyment of this book, however, was Offerman's tendency to interject his liberal ideology into many of his stories. That just was not needed and distracted from the overall comedic effect that the author was trying to accomplish. I guess I will never understand why so many "Hollywood folks" these days so often feel an obligation to interject their political views into their work; seeming not to understand that by so doing, they alienate at least 50% of their audience - probably more.

Good writer. Maybe too witty. Personally I like a little more history, but that's me. Barney Frank...really? Sorry, but the guy was asleep at the the switch during the 2008 mortgage/liquidity meltdown. He was the Senate's( and Country's) top bank cop at the time of the flop. He missed the boat there real bad. That ain't Gumption!

I enjoyed "Gumption" very much. I heard of it but during an interview on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. I liked reading about people I already knew about, and those who were new to me. I discovered author Wendell Berry, who I really enjoy reading.

Seems like a great collection of people to read about, but the author talked way too much about himself. I had to stop reading after he spent several pages in the Ben Franklin chapter comparing himself to the founding father. It was just too much.

You can't fault Nick Offerman's enthusiasm for his subjects. This is not quite so much a book, but a written documentation of someone's fandom and passion for extraordinary people. Sometimes I was able to enjoy the subject matter even if I did not care about the person or subject, and sometimes I did have to skim. I simply can not spend my morning commute reading about the subtleties of boat making, even though I really wanted to. I am no fan of Yoko Ono but wow he provides and amazing defense for her validity as an artist and a person.

So ultimately Mr. Offerman is not an amazing writer and the book can be a bit tedious, but overall I do recommend it. The true epitome of a three star book.

It's funny albeit parts are super preachy about white male privilege. As if I don't already get enough of that blather in the media. All I wanted was a book about cool history facts and pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. I really enjoyed his first book but honestly this one kind of disappoints. It really had potential to. Better luck next time Nick. Try writing it like Ron Swanson and less like a social justice warrior.

Personalities included way too random. Narrative perhaps a bit too personal. In many instances not terribly interesting. I will say, however, that Mr. Offerman shows impressive intelligence, and seems to be a truly nice guy.

An odd creation. The people described are fascinating, thoughtful, creative individuals. It is a bit sad that he soils their stories with crude, adolescent attempts at humor sprinkled with unnecessary odd-word choice. He is a good hearted author. If he actually modeled the people he writes about, my prediction is he would be better loved.

I really like Nick Offerman and just about everything he seems to stand for. This book is humorous at times, and informative at others. It was a bit difficult at times trying to dive really deep into some of the people he wrote about, mainly because I have no personal knowledge or interest in those people. There didn't seem to be any real flow or rhyme as to why he chose whom he did. That said, I suppose that's why it's his book written about people he admires and not mine. Also, he uses big words, and stuff, so I had to use my thinkin' bucket and learn a few things.

This book was not well-written and not especially insightful. He restates his opinions over and over and over. Watch Parks & Recreation if you enjoy Offerman as an actor (I do), but look elsewhere if you want a good book.

I really enjoyed listening to Nick Offerman's first book, Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living, and was looking forward to his second book with a great deal of anticipation. I was not disappointed.

In this book Offerman talks about gumption: combination of hard work, courage, and a willingness to go down the less travelled road. It began in an almost expected way--with several of the Founding Fathers. What made his biographical sketches of them different were the way he told these stories and his own particular interpretations of their lives and the lessons he learned from them. Offerman is a great story teller. And while he takes himself lightly, he does not take his message lightly: that an intrinsic quality of the American character is the willingness to go against the grain and to do your own thing. More than that, though, to do it well enough that you can make enormous change--whether this is what you set out to do or not.

The book was idiosyncratic in that, after some of the expected historical figures (Washington, Franklin, Madison) and moving to other, less expected, figures (Frederick Douglass, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt) his list becomes much more personal. I was introduced to historical figures I had not heard of and contemporary Americans--some known to me, some not. All these stories were told with a dry wit and wry humor that stayed on message.

I have often thought that many of the best comedians were also philosophers. That they spread the world views of their philosophies with humor to help the medicine go down. Offerman is in this vein. He has a philosophy of life that he is passionate about. It includes such attributes as individualism, working hard at work worth doing, perseverance, a fierce defense of our American right to be who we want to be, and a fiercer belief that government should stay out of our private lives and decisions, but be there to help those who need it.

This is all told in an extremely amusing way that kept me listening raptly. While I won't be putting this book in my seventh grade classroom library (there is some language in there that would get me fired), I do not hesitate to recommend it to older teens and to grown folks. This is not just the usual historical subjects. It is worth noting that while I did indeed learn a lot from the book, it was at no time pedantic or boring. This is something the best teachers strive for and that Offerman delivers.

Gumption got very long and tedious. I had to force myself to wade through it to the end. Some of the people he admired, I agreed with.
Nick Offerman wrote as if he were in character for his TV show.
Also, he had too much of a left wing slant to his writing, which had I known that, I never would have bought it.
I am not even sure it is worth one star.

Interesting read. Actually I bought the audio book and was pleasantly surprised to find out Nick Offerman himself narrates it. The first few chapters were awesome. I learned some things about a few of his chosen people with gumption that I did not already know. By the time he got to Yoko Ono, I was losing interest. I had to force myself to listen and keep an open mind. I asked myself what did Yoko Ono do that merits inclusion in the same book as George Washington and Frederick Douglas? I had to remind myself that these were his chosen people for the book and not mine. I half listened to his talk on his favorite wood workers, boat builders and tool makers. But that got old too. I wonder what percent of the population is really interested in those subjects enough to want to hear multiple chapters on the movers and shakers in that field.

I totally lost interest by the time he got to Jeff Tweedy. And I still dont know what Jeff Tweedy did that proved he had gumption. When I got to his chapter on Willy Nelson and Conan O'Brien I started to think he was just giving a nod to his friends or Hollywood power players whom he owed a favor. The book started to read like a list of 'look at all the celebrities I can email and get an interview with just because I am also a celebrity.'

The wording he chose started out nice and colorful and I was actually having fun looking up some of the meanings of his words. But towards the end it got old. I mean how many times can you use the word 'erudite' (in all its forms) before it becomes trite?! I read that Paddle Your Own Canoe is much better. Maybe I should have read that book first.

I was fortunate enough to receive this delightful tome as a thoughtful gift. Nick Offerman's humor, narrative style, life experience and outlook - as well as extensive vocabulary - make this a real joy to read. Mr. Offerman highlights a number of great individuals, what makes them remarkable, and offers some lessons to be learned from them. There are the usual suspects, but also a number one might find surprising, and, as a consequence, refreshing. Those expecting some Randian treatise would do well to remember that Ron Swanson is a fictional character on a television show, whereas Nick Offerman is an actual, real human being who sometimes works as an actor, and actors are not, in fact, the characters they play. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves freedom, America, and the ideals that make this country great. You'll likely come away with a list of new authors, artists, and musicians to check out for further mind expansion.

At first Gumption was an easy enjoyable read especially the chapter on how Central Park was designed and built. I also have no doubt he is a master at the craft of woodworking.
However the book took a sad turn when Nick got out of his depth on the history of WWII. America was forced into war by a vicious and no surrender nation of Japan. The last Japanese solider to surrender was Hiroo Onoda 1974.
I encourage Nick to get insight into how devoted the Japanese war machine was of that time. I suggest reading Ships of Ghosts the story of the USS Houston and how the survivors were treated and perhaps a peek into the Bataan Death March.
I hope that the atrocities of WWII are never repeated but equating how we ended the war to a school yard fight with America being the bully is not appropriate on many levels.

I finished "Gumption" on audible, and immediately purchased a hard copy so that I can reference it quicker and add highlights (and define some of the words that were new to me). I am a 33-year old male from about an hour where Offerman grew up and have been to his neck of the woods several times. I love American History, wood working, and agree with most of his entertainment ideas. I also think that "Parks and Recreation" is one of the top three best written TV shows in American History. It's up there with "The Simpsons" (seasons 1-9) and "Arrested Development." Being a huge Swanson (and Offerman) fan, naturally I greed with most of his choices for gutsy Americans. There were even many that I had never heard of that I am now starting to learn about. I have taken a particular fondness for Wendell Berry, who I had never heard of.

I don't agree with all of his views, but that is ok, and one of the main points of "Gumption". My only hope is that Offerman stays true to his midwestern roots and avoids the Hollywood form of liberalism that runs rampant in the entertainment industry.

Offerman is a shockingly good writer. He crafts his words with as much thought and care as I'd imagine he uses to construct a piece of furniture. This was his second book I've read and I will continue to read his books (and re-read them) as long as he keeps writing them.

I liked Offerman's first book (Paddle Your Own Canoe). In this one he dives head first into preaching politics in a very condescending way. No thanks! Go back to writing about comedy and woodworking please.

Confession... I have NEVER seen Nick Offerman in ANY movie or television show (just don't watch much). I was fortunate enough to hear an interview with him on NPR and was intrigued by what he was saying. That very day, I ran across this Audiobook at the library. WOW, not sure I have heard any book that I have enjoyed more for MANY years. Love his wit, wisdom, and profound vocabulary. So looking forward to checking out his earlier book and definitely looking forward to his future endeavors.

Nick Offerman is a rare character and all his funny quirkiness shines through in this book. It's filled with some great quotes and interesting nuggets about the 21 inspirational people he highlights. From names we all know (George Washington, Yoko Ono) to names I didn't know (George Saunders, Laurie Anderson), he told fascinating stories about each of them and showed why they're admiration-worthy. He touches on serious issues and is very good at explaining his perspective with humor and sensitivity. If you like his character, Ron Swanson, from Parks & Recreation, you'll love this book. It's a fun read and you'll learn something too.

I recently picked up the audiobook version of Nick Offerman's Gumption. As such, I had no access to the table of contents and was thus always surprised at each new chapter's subject. The premise of the book is that Offerman will highlight ways in which various Americans have displayed gumption, that mysterious combination of pluck, hard work, and skill that can make magical contributions to society. It's an interesting premise and I thought it would the perfect light reading (listening) for my daily commute.

In the beginning, he starts with historical figures, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and James Madison. These are safe choices. By the middle of the book, he's discussing Tom Laughlin (of Billy Jack fame) and Yoko Ono. Later in the book, he seems to lose himself more and more in discussing people he has admired in his personal life. Look, it's his right as the author to write about those whom he sees displaying gumption, and thus his choices fit within the premise of the book. What's problematic for me is why he even bothers to include historical figures in the beginning of the text. It seems to run so contrary in tone and content to the chapters in the latter half of the book.

By beginning with Washington, Franklin, and Madison, he sets his readers up to expect a very different book than the one they eventually receive. It's been interesting and I have learned something in every chapter, but it's not what I expected.

Some readers will also take offense at Offerman's opinions, offered freely and often, about the various topics his subjects bring to mind. He is clearly a liberal. If liberal opinions are likely to offend you, then you should avoid this. Offerman does use this book as his soapbox from time to time. I don't think this was a particular weakness, since by the time he's really rolling on his opinions in the later chapters, I was already getting the point that this wasn't so much about gumption as it was Offerman finding an interesting way to write a book about his favorite people/hobbies.

Listening to Nick Offerman regurgitate the intricacies of a bound stack of leafy yellow paper that most over the age of thirty humbly knows as the “Yellow Pages”, would be a joy. Listening to him spin this tale of American gumption into being has to be one of the highlights of my somewhat tenured existence. At the delicate age of forty-two I find myself drawn to the whimsy and sensible, anecdotal discourse that Mr. Offerman has lain before us. Even if I may or may not have agreed with every observation and candidate that he has detailed within this volume, I do recognize the reasoning and forethought behind said choices. I would be remiss if I did not share the abundance of praise I have for said author and this treatise of titular entertainment. This paragon of manhood has scribed a tome that must be, like a good scotch, savored and enjoyed by one and all, as long as you are of said legal consumption age in your particular locale. I will leave you with this, “Read the Book”. I daresay, you might enjoy it.

Nick Offerman is not shy about his point of view. He has a strong belief in courage, self reliance and spunk, or as he says "gumption." To illustrate these valued characteristics, he profiles 21 individuals, from founding fathers such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, to icons of popular culture such as Yoko Ono (who I learned a lot about so thank you.) Some of his choices come from lesser known fields such as boat building while and all are personally admired by if not friends of, Offerman (those deceased obviously are more the former than the latter category.). At times he is preachy, at times he is a bit of a sycophant (especially with Conan O'Brien.) I generally enjoyed the book and found it interesting. One thing that drove me a little crazy (that is probably more apparent in an audio book) is the over use of the word "perspicacity." It is a really snappy word, a ten cent word, or whatever expression you want to use to indicate someone has a vocabulary they are not shy to use. However, it looses its ability to impress when it is trotted out five or more times. A very small point. I found many of the themes he touched upon very relevant even when it felt he was driving home his point with one of his beloved 2 x 4's hitting you over the head.

Wonderful observations and celebration of historical and contemporary great Americans extrapolated from a diverse and expansive education, Offerman is an observant and whole hearted student of life... Anyone with a perspective on life similar to his will enjoy this "compendium" tremendously.

My enjoyment of Offerman's work beyond his character Ron Swanson began when I happened upon him being interviewed on a Youtube video. In it he highly reccomended Peter Korns book "Why We Make Things and Why it Matters". My greatest philosophical take away from this work by Korn was the perspective of one projecting the values one holds through the life one builds around them and the choices they make. So here Nick isn't writing to sell books (I mean that's certainly part of it) But he's writing to say, "Hey audience! Check out these awesome stories of myrth and inspiration! Cool right? And it is cool, enjoy the ride. It's a movable feast of delisciousness.

Getting to know Nick and understand his values through his works has been a real life changer for me. I can't wait to read his next book on woodworking and any other subject worth covering. Nick has much insight and values that need to be shared with the world so the sum of our societal whole can be increased.

"Have staying power"...

With a solid northern Midwest voice Offerman writes some kind of essays on his heros. I liked the one about Benjamin Franklin best, because he talked about Franklin speaking of the importance of not drinking beer for breakfast. Wendell Berry seems like a good antidote for the celebrity gossip magazines gracing the checkout aisles of every retail chain. Theodore Roosevelt had a lot of good advice for the old progressive Republicans.

I really liked Offerman's first book. Not always for the writing style itself, but because a fair amount of the narrative took place at the University of Illinois at almost the exact time I attended. When he named specific campus places, I was instantly transported back there. His gift for pulling me back into a nostalgic time was a generous one, indeed. Even when I didn't always agree with his personal opinions, I respected the way he presented and defended them.

I essentially found the same thing happening here in this book, but on a different scale. What I found in this book was that I enjoyed, for the most part, the sections that dealt with characters I already knew something about. But, when it dealt with characters I hadn't heard of, it often struggled to hold my attention. Part of that was due to Offerman's writing style which, let's be honest, tends to be way more verbose than necessary. (He's never met a $10 word he didn't love, when a 10-cent one would more than suffice.) While reading the book, I constantly heard Offerman's voice in my head, but there were a number of times when it droned. And it never droned as much as when it was dealing with people I didn't know much about. Instead of inspiring curiosity, it felt like a long-winded lecture from a boring professor who occasionally dropped ribald descriptions to shock you back into attention.

This is one of those times I wish the store would allow you to include 1/2 stars in your ratings. This is a 3.5-star book in my opinion. I considered giving it a 4-star review, but it just didn't have quite enough good stuff in it for me. The highs (and there are several of them) are high, but the lows really drag it down. In the end, there were too many chapters I struggled to finish. It's worth reading, just go into it with a tempered expectation.

Purchased this for my elementary age kids, my son, who loves Ron Swanson and history. The Audible edition is hilarious and yet informative for the car rides. Nick Offerman has inspired my second grader to read and request "real" history books. Perfect for adults, some humor is a little adult or goes over their heads, but love it. Next up, Paddle Your Own Canoe.

The individuals in the stories are interesting but Mr. Offerman's liberal views just kept ruining the potential positive points. An example, his summary of WWII in Chapter 16 is absolutely offensive and just wrong. If you are a WWII historian of any stripe skip this chapter or risk chucking the book out the window.

I read Nick Offerman's first book (Paddle Your Own Canoe), because I was a Swansonfile. I soon realized the man behind the character was a top shelf writer, which instantly turned me to Gumption. Mr. Offerman show cases his lexicon, and tests our's by going into splendid detail of some great American Heroes. He covers some figures that would be shared in our own list of Great Americans, as well as some unlikely, yet equally deserving displayers of gumption. All the while, challenging our knowledge of history, testing the skin of millennials, and inspiring us to fan the flame of our own gumption. Not to mention, I learned of some writers, musicians, and tool makers I would not mind perusing further.

Nick Offerman I know from "Parks & Recreation" as Ron Swanson, who along with Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy made conservatives seem almost human (almost, there's still the Sean Hannitys and Bill O'Reillys of the world). Offerman is an actor, woodworker, and owner of the world's finest moustache by far, so I was interested when I heard him talking about this, his new book. After the events in Charleston, SC this past week, I needed a tonic of good-humor and also all-American embracing of our rich and unending diversity as a nation to sooth the wounds that a hateful act by a pathetic, sad little man with a gun enacted on our nation and on my state of origin (I'm a proud-ish South Carolinian) in particular. This was a good read for that.

"Gumption" is a greatest hits of American heroes, some well-known and others obscure, of whom Offerman sings praise. You have your Founding Father George Washington, your former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, your comedy icon Conan O'Brien, and many more. Looking at the table of contents and seeing some names that I didn't know led me to consider skipping those profiles, but I'm glad I didn't. From beginning to end, I found this an enjoyable (and educational) look at some of our best American creators, innovators, and idealists. In a world where so much awfulness happens, it's a good book to pick up and be reminded, at just about any page throughout this tome, how much more we could aspire to if we just tried.

I particularly felt drawn to Offerman's profiles of people like George Saunders, Yoko Ono, and Wendell Berry (an author with whom I'm not familiar but would like to be after reading Offerman praise his work). I also enjoyed the looks at people I might not have otherwise wanted to read about: the woodworkers and boatbuilders, Laurie Anderson (whom I know mostly as Lou Reed's companion during his last twenty years) and Willie Nelson, and so on. This is just a great, enjoyable book, and it came into my possession during a week of unmitigated sorrow and heartbreak with the epicenter around the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

"Gumption" might inspire you to go out and build a boat, or a table, or a better America more worthy of its founding ideals and continuing efforts to improve. Whatever floats your boat. Just remember, the world is a much more interesting place when you take time to notice all the differences, not the similarities. Thank you for that, Mr. Offerman.

I liked the idea of studying gumption in these historical figures and where it got them and our country, but, for myself, I found Offerman's constant referencing the gumption history back to himself and his life reduced my enjoyment of the book to the point where I stopped reading in chapter 8. I rate this book Nice Effort, but it did not work for me.

Nick Offerman is intelligent, thoughtful, logical and fully entertaining. I love this book, the history and the ideals it espouses and I adore how effusive Mr. Offerman is with his sincere compliments about all of the subjects of this book and his deep love and respect he has for his wife. I love this soooooo much!!!