Selling Ben Cheever : Back to Square One in a Service Economy

In 1995, America was in the throes of downsizing fever. Many thousands then, as now, were losing their jobs to the corporate demand of more money for the top, by tightening the belt below. Unable to sell his latest novel, Ben Cheever started to think about what employment opportunities were out there. Selling Ben Cheever is the frank, self-effacing, and enlightening chronicle of his five years in the service industry. As we watch Ben confront his own demons about what a particular job means to him, we are compelled to consider how our egos are affected by not only what we do, but how we do it. Through his experiences, we begin to think about our approach to our own jobs and to confront our fears about what we would do if we didn't have them.

“Funny, vivid and honest.” —The New York Times Book Review

“The funniest memoir of the downsized economy.” —Talk Magazine

“By turns earnest and comic, analytical and self-obsessed.” —New York Magazine

“A touching and insightful workplace memoir.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Entertaining...Cheever's voice is utterly genuine, humble, and likable.” —The Chicago Tribune