Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure

Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure

Gorman, Dave

Travel

Ebury Press

The plan was simple. Go to America. Buy a second-hand car. Drive coast-to-coast without giving any money to The Man™. What could possibly go wrong? Dismayed by the relentless onslaught of faceless American chains muscling in where local businesses had once thrived, Dave Gorman set off on the ultimate American road trip—in search of the true, independent heart of the U S of A. He would eat cherry pie from local diners, re-fuel at dusty gas stations, and stock up on supplies from Mom and Pop's grocery store. At least that was the idea. But when did you last see an independent gas station? Gamely, Dave beds down in a Colorado trailer park, sleeps in an Oregon forest tree house, and even spends Thanksgiving with a Mexican family in Kansas. But when his road trip mutates into an odyssey of near-epic proportions and he finds himself being threatened at gun point in Mississippi, Dave starts to worry about what's going to break down next. The car . . . or him?

America Unchained: The Roadtrip of a Lifetime

Travel Writing

Remember when you were a kid, and you used to go round to a friend's house to see if they were playing? Well, as adults we're not supposed to do that. Which is a shame because Dave Gorman likes playing and he really likes games. So he knocked on the biggest door you could ever imagine—the internet—and asked 76,000 people if they fancied a game. This is the story of what happened next. Dave was up for anything and gamely played them at whatever they chose. He played some classics—Monopoly, Scrabble, dominoes and cribbage. He played many games he'd never heard of before—Khet, Kubb, Tikal or Smite anyone? He played board games and physical games. He's thrown sticks, balls, Frisbees and darts. He's rolled dice and he's drawn cards. From Liverpool to Hampstead and from Croydon to Nottingham, Dave travelled the length and breadth of Britain meeting strangers in strange places—their homes, at work, in the back rooms of pubs—and getting some hardcore game action. From casual players to serious game geeks, from the rank amateur to the world champion, he discovered a nation of gamers more than happy to welcome him into their midst. He's travelled all around the country and met all sorts of people. And it seems that playing games can teach you a lot about what makes the British tick. Of course, Dave hasn't been keeping score. Much.

Dave Gorman vs. the Rest of the World: Whatever the Game–Dave Takes on All Comers!

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Comedian Dave Gorman really likes games. This is the story of what happened when he knocked on the biggest door ever—the internet—and asked 76,000 people if they wanted to play
Remember as a kid, when you could just stop by a friend's house to see if they were playing? Well, as adults we're not supposed to do that. Which is a shame—because Dave Gorman really likes playing games. So Dave asked the internet to come out to play. He was up for anything and gamely played people at whatever they chose. He played some classics—Monopoly, Scrabble, dominoes, and cribbage. He played many games he'd never heard of before—Khet, Kubb, Tikal, or Smite anyone? He played board games and physical games. He's thrown sticks, balls, frisbees, and darts. He's rolled dice and he's drawn cards. Dave traveled the length and breadth of Britain meeting strangers in strange places—their homes, at work, in the back rooms of pubs—and getting some hard-core game action. From casual players to serious game geeks, from the rank amateur to the world champion, the gamers he discovered were more than happy to welcome him into their midst. He's traveled all around the country and met all sorts of people, and it turns out Brits are a competitive bunch; playing games can teach you a lot about what makes the British tick. Of course, Dave hasn't been keeping score. Much.

Dave Gorman vs. the Rest of the World: If Life's a Game...Let's Play!

Bestselling author Dave Gorman thinks we're suffering from information overload. How much do we really pay attention to? Dave intends to find out. Nowadays, the world is full of people trying to tell us things. So much so that we have taught our brains not to pay much attention. After all, click the mouse, tap the screen, flick the channel and it's on to the next thing. But Dave Gorman thinks it's time to have a closer look, to find out how much nonsense we tacitly accept. Suspicious adverts, baffling newspaper headlines, fake twitter, endless cat videos, insane TV shows where the presenters ask the same questions over and over. Can we even hear ourselves think over the rising din? Or is there just too much information?

Too Much Information: Or: Can Everyone Just Shut Up for a Moment, Some of Us are Trying to Think

Award-winning comedian Dave Gorman thinks we're suffering from information overload. How much do we really pay attention to? What happens if you stop and try to take it all in? Dave intends to find out. It’s hard to imagine a world where anything you could possibly want to know about—and everything you don’t even know you want to know about—isn't accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with just a few taps of our fingers. But that world once existed. And Dave Gorman remembers it. He remembers when there were only three channels on TV. He remembers when mobile phones were the preserve of arrogant estate agents and yuppie twonks. And he remembers when you had to unplug your phone to plug the computer into the landline in order to use the (cripplingly slow) internet. Nowadays of course, the world is full of people trying to tell us things. So much so that we have taught our brains not to pay much attention. After all, click the mouse, tap the screen, flick the channel, and it's on to the next thing. But Dave Gorman thinks it's time to have a closer look, to find out how much nonsense we tacitly accept. Suspicious ads, baffling newspaper headlines, fake Twitter, endless cat videos, insane TV shows where the presenters ask the same questions over and over—can we even hear ourselves think over the rising din? Or is there just too much information?

Too Much Information: Or: Can Everyone Just Shut Up for a Moment, Some of Us Are Trying to Think

Computers & Technology

RANDOM HOUSE UK

If someone called you a 'googlewhack' what would you do? Would you end up playing table tennis with a nine year old boy in Boston? Would you find yourself in Los Angeles wrangling snakes, or would you go to China to be licked by a performance artist? If your name is Dave Gorman, then all of these things could be true- Fuelled by a lust for life and a desperate desire to do anything except what he's supposed to be doing (writing that novel and growing up), Dave falls under the spell of an obscure internet word game - Googlewhacking. Addicted to the game, and gripped by obsession, Dave travels three times round the world, visiting four continents and the unlikeliest cast of real life eccentrics you'll ever meet in what becomes an epic challenge, a life-changing, globe-trotting Googlewhack adventure. A hostage to the vagaries of a search engine, Dave Gorman has become a 21st century Dice Man throwing his fortune to the fates. The only difference is that the dice Dave rolls has 3 billion faces- 'A rollicking, funny, sometimes disturbing, high-stakes personal journey with the pace of a thriller- Brilliant.' The Melbourne Age

Networking & Cloud Computing

Vintage Canada

Have I got a match for you!

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Innovations Press

America Unchained

A hostage to the vagaries of a search engine, Dave Gorman has become a 21st century Dice Man throwing his fortune to the fates―the only difference is that the dice Dave rolls has 3 million faces… If someone called you a 'Googlewhack' what would you do? Would you end up playing table tennis with a nine year old boy in Boston? Would you find yourself in Los Angeles wrangling snakes, or would you go to China to be licked by a performance artist? If your name is Dave Gorman, then all of these things could be true….Fuelled by a lust for life and a desperate desire to do anything except what he is supposed to be doing (writing that novel and growing up), Dave falls under the spell of an obscure internet word game―Googlewhacking. Addicted to the game, and gripped by obsession, Dave travels three times round the world, visiting four continents and the unlikeliest cast of real life eccentrics you'll ever meet in what becomes an epic challenge, a life-changing, globe-trotting Googlewhack adventure.

Overlook Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Gorman, Dave. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Gorman, Dave

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Gorman, Dave. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure

America Unchained: The Roadtrip of a Lifetime

Dave Gorman vs. the Rest of the World: Whatever the Game–Dave Takes on All Comers!

Dave Gorman vs. the Rest of the World: If Life's a Game...Let's Play!

Too Much Information: Or: Can Everyone Just Shut Up for a Moment, Some of Us are Trying to Think

Too Much Information: Or: Can Everyone Just Shut Up for a Moment, Some of Us Are Trying to Think

Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure

Have I got a match for you!

America Unchained

Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure