{"title":"David Giffels","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"barnstorming-ohio-book-david-giffels-9780306846397","title":"Barnstorming Ohio","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e**Finalist for the 2021 Ohioana Award**\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e An on-the-ground look at the diverse challenges facing Ohio, in light of its national significance as the state that has aligned with presidential election winners more than any other -- from an award-winning author and essayist dubbed \"the Bard of Akron\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003eThe question of America's identity has rarely been more urgent than now, and no American place has ever been more reflective of that identity than Ohio. David Giffels, a lifelong resident of the \"bellwether\" state, has spent a quarter century writing and thinking about what it means to live in what he calls \"an all-American buffet, an uncannily complete everyplace.\" With Cleveland as the end of the North, Cincinnati as the beginning of the South, Youngstown as the end of the East, and Hicksville (yes, Hicksville) as the beginning of the Midwest, Ohio offers important insight into the state of the nation.\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003eAs a historic 2020 presidential election approaches, \u003ci\u003eBarnstorming Ohio\u003c\/i\u003e is Giffels' account of a year on Ohio's roads, visiting people and places that offer valuable reflections of the national questions and concerns, as well as astounding electoral clairvoyance -- since 1896, Ohio has accurately chosen the winner in twenty-nine of thirty-one presidential elections, more than any other state.\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003eWith lyricism and a native's keen eye, \u003ci\u003eBarnstorming Ohio\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers into the living room of a man whose life was upended just shy of retirement by General Motors' shutdown of its Lordstown assembly plant. It offers an exclusive view into the presidential campaign of Ohio Democratic hopeful Tim Ryan. It takes us into the sodden soybean fields of farmers struggling to outlast the dual punch of a protracted trade war and historic rainfall, and to an indie rock music festival in Dayton a week after a mass shooting there. We enter the otherworld of long-dormant shopping malls as Amazon transforms them into vast new fulfillment centers. On the lighter side, Giffels makes a \"beer run\" into Ohio's booming craft brewing industry and revisits the legend (and the bird-nest toupee) of Jim Traficant, a larger-than-life Ohio politician whom many have called the \"proto-Trump.\"\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003eIn a year when Americans are seeking answers, \u003ci\u003eBarnstorming Ohio\u003c\/i\u003e offers rare and carefully nuanced access to the people who have always held them.\u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49727795953937,"sku":"CIN030684639XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50059153309969,"sku":"CIN030684639XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53392990208273,"sku":"GOR014897286","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/030684639X.jpg?v=1750695415"},{"product_id":"hard-way-on-purpose-book-david-giffels-9781451692747","title":"The Hard Way on Purpose","description":"\u003cb\u003eAward-winning author and journalist David Giffels explores the meaning of identity and place, hamburgers, hard work, and basketball in this collection of wry, irreverent essays reflecting on the many aspects of Midwestern culture and life from an insider's perspective.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Hard Way on Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e, David Giffels takes us on an insider's journey through the wreckage and resurgence of America's Rust Belt. A native who never knew the good times, yet never abandoned his hometown of Akron, Giffels plumbs the touchstones and idiosyncrasies of a region where industry has fallen, bowling is a legitimate profession, bizarre weather is the norm, rock 'n' roll is desperate, thrift store culture thrives, and sports is heartbreak. Intelligent, humorous, and warm, Giffels's linked essays are about coming of age in the Midwest and about the stubborn, optimistic, and resourceful people who prevail there.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49851951251729,"sku":"CIN1451692749VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49926750437649,"sku":"CIN1451692749G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51027240550673,"sku":"NIN9781451692747","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53380229923089,"sku":"CIN1451692749A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1451692749.jpg?v=1751241976"},{"product_id":"furnishing-eternity-book-david-giffels-9781501105944","title":"Furnishing Eternity","description":"\u003cb\u003eA lifetime's worth of workbench philosophy in a heartfelt memoir about the connection between a father and son (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e)--the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hard Way on Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e confronts mortality, survives loss, and finds resilience through an unusual woodworking project--constructing, with his father, his own coffin.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavid Giffels grew up fascinated by his father's dusty, tool-strewn workshop and the countless creations it inspired. So when he enlisted his eighty-one-year-old dad to help him build his own casket, he thought of it mostly as an opportunity to sharpen his woodworking skills and to spend time together. But the unexpected deaths of his mother and, a year later, his best friend, coupled with the dawning realization that his father wouldn't be around forever for such offbeat adventures--and neither would he--led to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOver the course of several seasons, Giffels returned to his father's barn in rural Ohio, a place cluttered with heirloom tools, exotic wood scraps, and long memory, to continue a pursuit that grew into a meditation on grief and optimism, a quest for enlightenment, and a way to cherish time with an aging parent. With wisdom and humor, Giffels grapples with some of the hardest questions we all face as he and his father saw, hammer, and sand their way through a year bowed by loss. \u003ci\u003eFurnishing Eternity\u003c\/i\u003e is an entertaining memoir that moves through gentle absurdism to a poignant meditation on death and what comes before it (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTender, witty and, like the woodworking it describes, painstakingly and subtly wrought. \u003ci\u003eFurnishing Eternity\u003c\/i\u003e continues Giffels's unlikely literary career as the bard of Akron, Ohio.Only a very skilled engineer of a writer can transform the fits and starts, the fitted corners and sudden gouges of the assembly process into a kind of page-turning drama (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e).","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50176010486033,"sku":"CIN1501105949VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52106336862481,"sku":"CIN1501105949G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1501105949.jpg?v=1751243224"},{"product_id":"all-the-way-home-building-a-family-in-a-falling-down-house-book-david-giffels-9780061362873","title":"All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs wry as Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself, as insightful as Tracy Kidder's House, here is smart, engaging tale of one man's stuggle to restore his family's new home--a decrepit old mansion--and discover himself\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith his pregnant wife and their 18-month-old son in tow, David Giffels scoured the environs of Akron, OH, in search of the perfect house. But nothing seemed right . . . until he spotted the beautiful, decaying Guilded Era mansion. A former rubber robber baron's domain, the once grand house does need some repair . . . okay it's a dump. So what if, there's \"nothing holding this place up but memory,\"--the assessment of his father, a structural engineer? It wouldn't be perfect if it were easy, and Giffels relishes the challenge. He's a committed do it yourselfer who fears a life without struggle--and Home Depot.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll the Way Home follows Giffels's funny and sometimes frustrating journey as he and his young family turns a decrepit money pit into the the home of their dreams. From outwitting squatters (both four- and two-legged) to rebuilding termite ridden walls, battling wisteria vines and finding $14,000 in Depression-era cash hidden in a bathroom wall, Giffels takes readers along on the ultimate fixer-up trip. Throughout he shows them the heart of a young man on the brink of adulthood, happily struggling with his new roles as a husband and a father--a man trying to find his way without losing himself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50342897385745,"sku":"CIN0061362875G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983051559185,"sku":"NIN9780061362873","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51415414309137,"sku":"CIN0061362875VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52678870925585,"sku":"NLS9780061362873","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061362875.jpg?v=1750693190"},{"product_id":"all-the-way-home-book-david-giffels-9780061362866","title":"All the Way Home","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs wry as Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself, as insightful as Tracy Kidder's House, here is smart, engaging tale of one man's stuggle to restore his family's new home--a decrepit old mansion--and discover himself\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith his pregnant wife and their 18-month-old son in tow, David Giffels scoured the environs of Akron, OH, in search of the perfect house. But nothing seemed right . . . until he spotted the beautiful, decaying Guilded Era mansion. A former rubber robber baron's domain, the once grand house does need some repair . . . okay it's a dump. So what if, there's “nothing holding this place up but memory,”--the assessment of his father, a structural engineer? It wouldn't be perfect if it were easy, and Giffels relishes the challenge. He's a committed do it yourselfer who fears a life without struggle--and Home Depot. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e All the Way Home follows Giffels's funny and sometimes frustrating journey as he and his young family turns a decrepit money pit into the the home of their dreams. From outwitting squatters (both four- and two-legged) to rebuilding termite ridden walls, battling wisteria vines and finding $14,000 in Depression-era cash hidden in a bathroom wall, Giffels takes readers along on the ultimate fixer-up trip. Throughout he shows them the heart of a young man on the brink of adulthood, happily struggling with his new roles as a husband and a father--a man trying to find his way without losing himself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50342898041105,"sku":"CIN0061362867A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50342901088529,"sku":"CIN0061362867G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50715474329873,"sku":"CIN0061362867VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061362867.jpg?v=1751004948"},{"product_id":"furnishing-eternity-book-david-giffels-9781501105968","title":"Furnishing Eternity","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A lifetime's worth of workbench philosophy in a heartfelt memoir about the connection between a father and son\" (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e)--the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hard Way on Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e confronts mortality, survives loss, and finds resilience through an unusual woodworking project--constructing, with his father, his own coffin.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e David Giffels grew up fascinated by his father's dusty, tool-strewn workshop and the countless creations it inspired. So when he enlisted his eighty-one-year-old dad to help him build his own casket, he thought of it mostly as an opportunity to sharpen his woodworking skills and to spend time together. But the unexpected deaths of his mother and, a year later, his best friend, coupled with the dawning realization that his father wouldn't be around forever for such offbeat adventures--and neither would he--led to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Over the course of several seasons, Giffels returned to his father's barn in rural Ohio, a place cluttered with heirloom tools, exotic wood scraps, and long memory, to continue a pursuit that grew into a meditation on grief and optimism, a quest for enlightenment, and a way to cherish time with an aging parent. With wisdom and humor, Giffels grapples with some of the hardest questions we all face as he and his father saw, hammer, and sand their way through a year bowed by loss. \u003ci\u003eFurnishing Eternity\u003c\/i\u003e is \"an entertaining memoir that moves through gentle absurdism to a poignant meditation on death and what comes before it\" (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Tender, witty and, like the woodworking it describes, painstakingly and subtly wrought. \u003ci\u003eFurnishing Eternity\u003c\/i\u003e continues Giffels's unlikely literary career as the bard of Akron, Ohio...Only a very skilled engineer of a writer can transform the fits and starts, the fitted corners and sudden gouges of the assembly process into a kind of page-turning drama\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e).","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50385422188817,"sku":"CIN1501105965G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53049664012561,"sku":"GOR014715492","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1501105965.jpg?v=1751307318"},{"product_id":"wheels-of-fortune-book-david-giffels-9781629221601","title":"Wheels of Fortune","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50395565785361,"sku":"CIN1629221600G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1629221600.jpg?v=1751120105"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/de-de\/collections\/autor-buecher-von-david-giffels.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}