As an author, I spend a lot of time sitting at the keyboard, as do many in this and similar professions. Prior to becoming a novelist, I was a long-haul trucker, another sedentary lifestyle. Over the course of many years, the body I once had as an active-duty Marine turned into a blob. So, I decided to do something about it. The change from Marine to blob took decades, so I didn’t even notice it happening. But when I put the aging process in reverse, the changes were very noticeable and fast-coming. I’d intended to write a sequel to Blue Collar to No Collar, my non-fiction on writing and publishing in the digital age and the title was to be No Collar to White Collar, a study of taking my writing career to the next level as a publisher. Six years later, I’ve only lived chapter one of that book, so it will be a while before I finish it. Then along came Sam Hoster, my co-author. I know very little about health and fitness, except that I’m living proof that even in our mid-sixties, it’s not too late to become fit and strong. So, I invited Sam to write this book with me. You see, he’s the owner of the gym I started going to and through the guidance and tutelage of his trainers and coaches, I went from blob to competitive powerlifter in just over a year. At the time of this writing, it’s not certain if I will hold any of my states powerlifting records for my age and weight, but the Marine in me says that by the time this is published, I’ll hold four state records. This book isn’t a memoir, but a motivational. Anyone can become stronger and healthier. All you need is guidance and a little push. That’s what we’re here for. Sam provides the guidance and I do the pushing. Kinda like in the gym.

While the internet bubble has burst, the New Economy that the internet produced is still with us, along with the myth of a workplace built around more humane notions of how people work and spend their days in offices. No-Collar is the only close study of New Economy workplaces in their heyday. Andrew Ross, a renowned writer and scholar of American intellectual and social life, spent eighteen months deep inside Silicon Alley in residence at two prominent New Economy companies, Razorfish and 360hiphop, and interviewed a wide range of industry employees in other cities to write this remarkable book. Maverick in their organizations and permissive in their culture, these workplaces offered personal freedoms and rewards that were unheard of in corporate America. Employees feared they may never again enjoy such an irresistible work environment. Yet for every apparent benefit, there appeared to be a hidden cost: 70-hour workweeks, a lack of managerial protection, an oppressive shouldering of risk by employees, an illusory sense of power sharing, and no end of emotional churning. The industrialization of bohemia encouraged employees to think outside the box, but also allowed companies to claim their most free and creative thoughts and ideas. In these workplaces, Andrew Ross encountered a new kind of industrial personality, and emerged with a sobering lesson. Be careful what you wish for. When work becomes sufficiently humane, we tend to do far too much of it, and it usurps an unacceptable portion of our lives. He concludes that we should not have to choose between a personally gratifying and a just workplace, we should strive to enjoy both. Author note: Andrew Ross is Professor in the American Studies program at New York University. A writer for Artforum, The Nation, The Village Voice, and many other publications, he is the author or editor of thirteen books, including The Celebration Chronicles, Real Love, The Chicago Gangster Theory of Life, Strange Weather, No Respect, and, most recently, Low Pay, High Profile: The Global Push for Fair Labor.

The hype about the humane workplace concealed a lifestyle in which the line between work time and personal time was blurred beyond hope. Features that appeared to be healthy advances in corporate democracy turned into trapdoors that opened on a bottomless 70-hour-plus workweek. [book cover].

Includes cases argued and determined in the District Courts of the United States and, Mar./May 1880-Oct./Nov. 1912, the Circuit Courts of the United States; Sept./Dec. 1891-Sept./Nov. 1924, the Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United States; Aug./Oct. 1911-Jan./Feb. 1914, the Commerce Court of the United States; Sept./Oct. 1919-Sept./Nov. 1924, the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

Everyone has a story to tell. Whether it’s a memoir of an exciting life, or fictional characters in your head trying to get out. Perhaps you’ve thought it might be cool to write a book, but always believed it was beyond your reach and ability. It’s not. To be more precise, it doesn’t have to be. All you lack is the motivation to get started, the tenacity to stay with it, and the expertise in self publishing to get it finished. I can help you with these things. In this book, I’ll show you some of the rewards that might come your way by becoming a self published, or independent author. I also provide a few tips on how to overcome certain common stumbling blocks. But, this isn’t a how-to book. There are many learned scholars publishing books about the craft of creative writing. This is more of a motivational book, giving you an idea of what you might expect in the trenches, as a mid-level self published author. Whether you’re just thinking about writing or already have several books published, we could all use a little motivation. Who am I? Just an old truck driver, who is now off the road and living the life I’ve always dreamed of, after just two years of writing and self publishing.

Edited byRichard Ford and featuring stories by Russell Banks, Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff,Jhumpa Lahiri, JohnCheever, and many others, Blue Collar,White Collar, No Collar is a profound and groundbreaking anthologyexploring resonant themes of employment, service, and daily obligations asunique windows into our culture, our society, and our very humanity. With ashare of proceeds going to assist the literacynonprofit 826Michigan, this unforgettable collection of short fiction from manyof contemporary literature’s most powerful authors limns the diverse meanings of work in American culture today, even as itlooks to the future of the American workforce and its capacity to succeedcreatively tomorrow.