# Book ID

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 25, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665 "2014-01-25T02:47:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665/1 "2014-01-25T02:47:54Z")

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There was this book I read part of in a magazine that was an oral history type of the white collar world. The time frame was between 1985 and 1988. I do not remember what the magazine was. Maybe Harpers or The Atlantic. But I did see the book in a book in D.C. during that time. Too many books, so little money.  
The one thing I remember about the book was one story that concerned a technical writer. He was wondering how much another writer who was at the same level as him but in a different department. He talked about the writers responsibilities and the fact that he had been hired from outside the company.  
The thing that made him wonder was that his daughter was getting married and he wanted to know how he was going to pay for it. His wife made the suggestion that the family might have inherited money. It ended with the man saying that he hoped that the bride’s father dropped dead at the dance.  
Thank you in advance.

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**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665/2 "2014-01-25T14:07:22Z")

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Was it non-fiction?

Your description brings a couple books to mind, though neither are really in the time frame you’re describing.

[Working](http://www.amazon.com/Working-People-Talk-About-What/dp/0394478843/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1390658550&sr=8-12&keywords=studs+terkel) by Studs Terkel, and [What Should I Do with My Life](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=what%20should%20i%20do%20with%20my%20life&sprefix=what+should+I+do+%2Caps%2C217&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awhat%20should%20i%20do%20with%20my%20life) by Po Bronson.

Both have stories from real people about jobs and life situations.

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**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665/3 "2014-01-25T15:06:19Z")

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Yes it was non fiction. The book I am talking about was published in the time frame I mentioned.

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**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665/4 "2026-07-26T20:59:25Z")

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I found the book. It is called Scenes from Corporate Life by Earl Shorris. Article was in Harper’s Magazine in March 1980.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-id/679665/5 "2026-07-26T22:47:11Z")

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Oh, thank god, this has been keeping me awake at night!

(Seriously, though, it’s kind of cool to get an answer all these years later.)