Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

by Jessica Bruder

From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce programme in Texas, American employers have discovered a new, low-cost labour pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads.

Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive but have not given up hope.

“Nomadland”, Chloe Zhao’s film, based on the book and starring Frances McDormand,  is released on 5 December 2020

• ISBN10: 0393356310
• ISBN13: 9780393356311
• Publish Date: 21 September 2018 (first published 19 September 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: WW Norton & Co
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[starbell]

If I could rate it lower I would. The first few chapters of the book were somewhat interesting. Then it became increasingly repetitive where she just talked about the same things over and over again. Workampers, how awful their conditions were, how everyone travelled around and weren't allowed to stay in the same campsite for long. Then, 70% into the book she reveals she smokes marijuana - no idea what for, probably not legally, given that at that point it was hardly legal anywhere in the US. Then after this, she reveals she smuggled in urine to pass a drug test to work for Amazon. After this I immediately stopped reading and decided I would rather read a better book, hopefully by a better person.