
99% Perspiration
A New Working History of the American Way of Life
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Narrated by:
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Adam Chandler
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By:
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Adam Chandler
About this listen
An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” This phrase, arguably Thomas Edison’s most famous quote, has been drilled into the minds of generations of Americans. A fairly straightforward iteration of the idea that innovation, discovery, and ingenuity are the result of drive and grit above all, it has also come to represent much darker myths: that hard work always leads to success and that achievement is the product of individuals and not communities. In this model, those who come out on top are there because they earned it, and everyone else needs to buckle down, glove up, and, maybe one day, they’ll get there too.
As the wealth gap widens, communities crumble, and Americans work more for less, Adam Chandler raises the question: What happens when perspiration isn’t enough? To answer it, he crisscrosses the country interviewing mayors, teachers, generals, pastors, construction workers, and entrepreneurs, to reveal just how untenable relying on “perspiration” as a strategy has truly become. He also delves into America’s past to reveal how our government, education system, and culture at large have woven the idea of meritocracy deep into the fabric of American society and how some of history’s most famous so-called bootstrappers really built their wealth. From George Washington to Seattle, Washington, Jay Gatsby to Bill Gates, 99% Perspiration unpacks the misguided obsession with hard work that has come to define both the American dream and nightmare, offering insight into how we got here and hope for where we may go.
©2025 Adam Chandler (P)2025 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Michael Chad Hoeppner has coached presidential candidates, prominent CEOs, and Ivy League deans on their communication skills. Now, he shares his wide‑ranging knowledge in Don't Say Um. Hoeppner has created an entirely new approach to communication training, providing physical exercises to quickly improve speaking. With simple-to-master exercises, Don’t Say Um is an essential tool for improving your speech. Don't Say Um challenges our preconceived notions of good speaking techniques and offers powerful tools to become master communicators.
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Best book I’ve ever read on public speaking and communication.
- By Robert on 01-30-25
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Drive-Thru Dreams
- A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom
- By: Adam Chandler
- Narrated by: Adam Chandler
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Most any honest person can own up to harboring at least one fast-food guilty pleasure. In Drive-Thru Dreams, Adam Chandler explores the inseparable link between fast food and American life for the past century. The dark underbelly of the industry’s largest players has long been scrutinized and gutted, characterized as impersonal, greedy, corporate, and worse. But, in unexpected ways, fast food is also deeply personal and emblematic of a larger-than-life image of America.
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Road Trip Audio!
- By Anonazon on 06-28-19
By: Adam Chandler
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Mood Machine
- The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
- By: Liz Pelly
- Narrated by: Liz Pelly
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on over a hundred interviews with industry insiders, former Spotify employees, and musicians, Mood Machine takes us to the inner workings of today’s highly consolidated record business, showing what has changed as music has become increasingly playlisted, personalized, and autoplayed.
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Vocal fry
- By Anonymous User on 01-19-25
By: Liz Pelly
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House of Huawei
- The Secret History of China's Most Powerful Company
- By: Eva Dou
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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On the coast of southern China, an eccentric entrepreneur spent three decades steadily building an obscure telecom company into one of the world’s most powerful technological empires with hardly anyone noticing. This all changed in December 2018, when the detention of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ female scion, sparked an international hostage standoff, poured fuel on the US-China trade war, and suddenly thrust the mysterious company into the global spotlight.
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Good description of how China understood the critical importance of telecom technology before other countries in the west
- By Juan C. Rodriguez on 02-19-25
By: Eva Dou
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The Power of Enough
- Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money
- By: Elizabeth Husserl
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Husserl
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by money—bewildered by the complexities of building wealth and frustrated by the persistent sense that no matter how much we earn, something crucial feels missing. But what if the key to financial freedom isn’t found in striving for more but in redefining what “enough” truly means? Financial growth expert Elizabeth Husserl’s The Power of Enough invites you to rethink your relationship with money, offering a groundbreaking blueprint that replaces chasing financial success with cultivating a life of meaning, balance, and fulfillment.
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buy a copy of the book if you want the full experience.
- By Clifford Bell on 02-18-25
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It Takes Chutzpah
- How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change
- By: Ron Wyden
- Narrated by: Ron Wyden
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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It Takes Chutzpah is an inspirational call to action by a senior U.S. politician, describing how Americans of all age groups, persuasions, and occupations can defy convention, chart new pathways for their communities, schools, at work and in life. US Senator Ron Wyden is widely praised for coming up with sensible-sounding ideas no one else had thought of and making the counter-intuitive political alliances that prove helpful in passing bills. In It Takes Chutzpah, he offers a progressive leader’s manifesto for being a courageous warrior during turbulent times.
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Accuracy of events
- By jamacc on 02-25-25
By: Ron Wyden
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Don't Say Um
- How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life
- By: Michael Chad Hoeppner
- Narrated by: Michael Chad Hoeppner
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Chad Hoeppner has coached presidential candidates, prominent CEOs, and Ivy League deans on their communication skills. Now, he shares his wide‑ranging knowledge in Don't Say Um. Hoeppner has created an entirely new approach to communication training, providing physical exercises to quickly improve speaking. With simple-to-master exercises, Don’t Say Um is an essential tool for improving your speech. Don't Say Um challenges our preconceived notions of good speaking techniques and offers powerful tools to become master communicators.
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Best book I’ve ever read on public speaking and communication.
- By Robert on 01-30-25
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Mad House
- How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
- By: Annie Karni, Luke Broadwater
- Narrated by: Karen Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The United States Congress has always been messy and far-from-august, but as Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater show here, in scorching, shocking detail, it has reached some kind of chaotic bottom. The anarchy that reigned over Congress’s lower chamber in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building—the election of serial liar and con-man George Santos, revenge porn being shown on the floor of the house, and the theatrical high jinks of Lauren Boebert—all were a sign of decay and dysfunction of the highest order.
By: Annie Karni, and others
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Y2K
- How the 2000s Became Everything (Essays on the Future That Never Was)
- By: Colette Shade
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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THE EARLY 2000s conjures images of inflatable furniture, flip phones, and low-rise jeans. It was a new millennium and the future looked bright, promising prosperity for all. The internet had arrived, and technology was shiny and fun. For many, it felt like the end of history: no more wars, racism, or sexism. But then history kept happening. Twenty-five years after the ball dropped on December 31st, 1999, we are still living in the shadows of the Y2K Era.
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Not brilliant but entertaining
- By joan Morell on 02-05-25
By: Colette Shade
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Superforecasting
- The Art and Science of Prediction
- By: Philip Tetlock, Dan Gardner
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week's meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts' predictions are only slightly better than chance. However, an important and underreported conclusion of that study was that some experts do have real foresight.
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Great for Experts
- By Michael on 02-20-17
By: Philip Tetlock, and others
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Buy What You Love Without Going Broke
- Transform Your Spending and Get More of What Money Can’t Buy
- By: Jen Smith, Jill Sirianni
- Narrated by: Jen Smith, Jill Sirianni
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s a lot of noise out there about how to spend (and not spend) your hard-earned money. But what if you made financial decisions based on what you value—instead of what others are telling you to value? This is the empowering approach Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni, hosts of the Frugal Friends podcast, want you to take to improve your spending habits. They believe you can value anything (yes, anything!), whether that’s a daily latte, fancy dinners out, or vacations. But, despite what social media is saying, you don’t value everything.
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Excellent listen for "normal" people
- By Kelly on 03-24-25
By: Jen Smith, and others
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How to Be Enough
- Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists
- By: Ellen Hendriksen
- Narrated by: Ellen Hendriksen
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Ellen Hendriksen—clinical psychologist, anxiety specialist, and author of How to Be Yourself—charts a flexible, forgiving, and freeing path, all without giving up the excellence your high standards and hard work have gotten you. She delivers seven shifts—including from self-criticism to kindness, control to authenticity, procrastination to productivity, comparison to contentment—to find self-acceptance, rewrite the Inner Rulebook, and most of all, cultivate the authentic human connections we’re all craving.
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worth every minute
- By Jeremy Hylen on 03-12-25
By: Ellen Hendriksen
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How to Be Yourself
- Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety
- By: Ellen Hendriksen
- Narrated by: Ellen Hendriksen
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Up to 40% of people consider themselves shy. You might say you're introverted or awkward, or that you're fine around friends but just can't speak up in a meeting or at a party. Maybe you're usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. If you get nervous in social situations - meeting your partner's friends, public speaking, standing awkwardly in the elevator with your boss - you've probably been told, "Just be yourself!" But that's easier said than done - especially if you're prone to social anxiety.
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"Life" Changing
- By Lisa on 05-22-18
By: Ellen Hendriksen
What listeners say about 99% Perspiration
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Benjamin S.
- 02-11-25
99% perspiration, 100% AWESOME
After reading his first book, “Drive-Thru Dreams” I was compelled to read more from Adam Chandler. This new book is an absolute home run. Chandler offers a sharp, compelling look at American work culture, dissecting the narratives that shape our beliefs about success, effort, and opportunity. Through vivid anecdotes and historical analysis, he unpacks the enduring myth of “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps”, revealing the reality of the true meaning of that saying. The book is as engaging as it is eye-opening, weaving together personal stories, policy shifts, and economic realities to illustrate the forces at play. Chandler’s writing is clear and persuasive, making complex topics accessible without oversimplifying them. Rather than simply critiquing the system, he offers a thoughtful exploration of why these narratives persist and what it would take to build a fairer, more sustainable work culture. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to understand the realities of labor in America today and the deeper forces shaping our professional lives. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.
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- Samuel
- 02-10-25
Probably the best book about work culture in the United States
The author’s amazing research not only dispels preconceived notions about the American dream but highlights initiatives that can be taken to make work life easier for all Americans.
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- Ed Wojcicki
- 03-21-25
Interesting
I appreciated the second half after wondering where the author was going with the history lessons in the first half. The audio performer had an annoying tendency to drop his voice too much at the end of sentences but otherwise was good. Overall, the book was worth my time.
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