Rivethead: Tales from the assembly line, by Ben Hamper

 

I first learned about this book when my boss mentioned that he'd listened to a review of it (I believe on NPR, of which he was a big fan). I thought it was something that my dad would like, so I gave it to him for Christmas or his birthday that year. I later bought myself a paperback copy, but didn't get around to reading it until just this month, 30 years after I bought the book for my dad. 

Ben Hamper was the eldest child in a large family with an alcoholic father who was negligent and mostly absent. He struggled with his studies, and when he finished high school, he didn't have many options. After working a few jobs, he was hired by GM to work on the assembly line during the night shift (which is where all new hires were placed). This book is an account of the various jobs that Hamper had on the assembly line, how he was alternately laid off and then re-hired, the drugs and alcohol that he abused in and out of the workplace, and the various hi-jinks that he and others got up to at work. 

This is a fascinating look at work on an assembly line, although some of the tales he tells are so tall that I have to think that he's exaggerating for comedic effect. Hamper worked for many years on the assembly line until he developed a medical/psychological condition that led to his departure from GM. This book paints an informative picture of life at GM, working on an assembly line in the 1970s and 1980s, and life in Flint, Michigan, when the only game in town was GM.