by Ben Hamper
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Product Description
A former "shoprat" in a Michigan auto plant offers a gritty account of life in the world of manufacturing, on and off the assembly line. Reprint. NYT. PW.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Hard to feel any sympathy, 2009-12-21
As a fellow autoworker, I thought I'd read this to get some of the funny stories he no doubt had. Instead we get a whiney tale about how trapped he is in his job. THe complaints he has are amazing considering how little he was actually at work due to layoffs and medical leaves. Although there are some comical moments and as a whole it is well written, the guy represents that stereotype that helped bring the companies down. Wow, drinking on the job not to mention being so far gone and then DRIVING HOME! Sorry, I know exactly how it was for you and you're a bad representative, so glad you could be published.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Stellar viewpoint into the GM assembly line in the 70s & 80s, 2009-08-10
Ben Hamper brings a gift that few have ever delivered - a straightforward account of life on a GM assembly line, written by an assembly line worker (the aptly monikered "Rivethead"). Be warned, Hamper does not pull any punches with his language, descriptions of events, and the goings-on at GM. There are plenty of four letter words, vulgar descriptions, and so on - all of which contribute intimately to the pace and style of the book. Hamper doesn't use these only for crude reasons, no, he is painting the picture of the assembly line workers.
I admit, coming from a manufacturing company, I was shocked to read of the constant substance abuse, heavy drinking before, during, and after shifts, and overall terrible behavior of these grown men, or, as Hamper refers to them, kids who never grew up. The latter description is probably more accurate. It would be easy to paint GM as a no-doubt failure based on this book, but that's too one-sided. The dreary conditions, lack of concern for its workers, dull work, and constant poor conditions contributed to the need to numb the minutes away and make the clock tick a little faster.
In the world of the New GM, one could go back and start to identify many of the reasons this once mighty company failed. Rivethead takes on a new life given the events of the recent years.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Rivethead, 2009-08-03
Vulgar exaggeration that is just outright fun to read is the best way to describe this book. Ben Hamper's autobiography, Rivethead, is a simple story of life on the American car manufacturing line in the 1980's. Assuming only half the stories are true, it's no wonder that the Japanese beat the American's in the auto industry.
Where Rivethead falls short is that it glamorizes the destructive behavior or drugs and alcohol, especially while working on an assembly line. Hamper's amazingly funny stories about the blue collar worker keeps the book enjoyable. But at the same time, the underlying social norms of mediocracy and work avoidance with the before mentioned substance abuses is disheartening at best. In the end, Hamper never grows beyond these poor behaviors and seems to to relish the life of an alcoholic union worker.
Overall, it's a fun book that leaves the moralistic reader seeking more.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Funny and brutally honest. A snapshot of the UAW in the 80's, 2009-04-20
My dad started at GM in 1971 and retired on disability in 1996. I myself worked in the factory that made Chevy Baretta windows in the 80's. I say that because I don't want anyone to take this review as putting down UAW members or autoworkers.
To say the least, Mr Hamper has a voice and a sense of humor that capture those noisy, smelly, overheated factories that spit out the low quality flashy junk Detroit produced in the late 70's and early 80's. He chronicles the alcohol and rock music that fueled the shenanigans that went on the parking lots and nearby bars just as well.
Sadly, this book is also a tale of mental illness and the American auto industry's failed first attempts to achieve the quality of the Japanese cars that were suddenly outselling the best efforts of the "Big Three".
If you ever shot a rivet on an assembly line, or loved someone who did then you'll probably like this book. It's also a good read for anyone who remembers sex, drugs, and rock & roll of the 70's and 80's with any fondness.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Too Blue Collar Blues, 2009-02-09
How can you make standing on the assembly line in a GM plant funny? Hamper, who describes himself as, "desended from royality," because his father and grandfather worked in the same plants, makes the dehumanizing process of the line a exceedingly humorous read.
A friend and coworker of Michael Moore (TV Nation) Hamper, brings the frustration of a nowhere career to a funny light. Blue Collaring it, has a sense of hopelessness attached, but with a cynical edge style Hamper delievers a tour-de-force for all working class people to read.
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