Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers

Here is another celebrity-penned book that would not have been published but for its author's fame. As an actor, Offerman is well known for playing Ron Swanson on television's Parks and Recreation; however, he also spends his time woodworking (Offerman Woodshop in Los Angeles) and writing (Paddle Your Own Canoe). This title, his second book, should have the same exclusive audience as the first: fans of Nick Offerman. And there must be plenty of them out there, as otherwise it is hard to fathom how this could be marketable. The book is divided into 21 chapters and in each Offerman discusses the life of an American who, he says, possesses "gumption." In the case of his chosen historical figures (George Washington, Ben Franklin, etc.), well-known bits of history are retold in an annoying, wordy style that reads like a transcribed monolog, with only the occasional ribald joke to remind us this is not an undergraduate history paper. In the pieces about contemporary figures (e.g., Yoko Ono, Jeff Tweedy), things get decidedly more first-person as Offerman dishes stories of his encounters with other famous people, gushing about his boundless admiration for their work.