Up All Night

by Martha Gies

Who is out there in the dark while the rest of us sleep? In "Up All Night, Martha Gies profiles two dozen graveyard-shift workers and presents a rare insider's look at the unseen workers who keep our cities humming after dark.

Genres: Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Ellen Notbohm · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we talk about Monday as being a "new work week," we exclude the one-third of the workforce who work Saturdays and/or Sundays, serving those who work Monday-Friday. My sons worked Saturdays and Sundays for many years. We became acutely aware of how much the M - F crowd takes for granted -- that first responders, hospital workers, restaurant and retail workers, transportation workers (airport/airline workers, bus drivers, gas stations, AAA, etc.), and other critical workers will be all on the job when they're not. The same goes for graveyard workers--often overlooked and unappreciated. UP ALL NIGHT is “a fascinating collection of voices from the graveyard shift, showing us who’s out keeping the city going while the rest of us sleep.” Author Gies, an affirmed night owl and accomplished writer, tells the personal stories of an eye-opening array of night workers: industrial baker, flower wholesaler, shelter worker, zookeeper, nude dancer, tech support worker, radio deejay, newspaper distributor, pool hall worker, first responders, and more. How do people end up in these jobs? The human factor in this book is overwhelming, in a good way. It helped me see my city much more fully, more vibrantly, and that view has stayed with me for almost twenty years.

[Wayne Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A searching look at a city at night that wouldn’t normally be seen and shouldn’t be taken for granted. All lives deserve the dignity of witness.

[Deb Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection had a few stories that I enjoyed but overall I skipped a lot of them. I enjoyed the ones about people in the medical field the most (shocker). It did remind me of a mini ethnography I had to do in college-the-first-time for an anthropology class where my friends and I visited a local bakery in the wee hours of the morning to interview them about their job. We went in the back door and the floor was slippery with donut grease. It became a bit of an addiction on many mornings. There is nothing better than a donut fresh out of the fryer at 0300 and a gallon of milk among friends...

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful writing about the night life of Portland, Oregon - street cleaners, mission workers, cops and ambulance drivers, dancers, hotelier -- and many more professions covered. Each chapter is a short narrative, with Gies' observations woven in. How fascinating to see the streets and neighborhoods where I walk during the day, transformed at dusk into something strangely familiar and unknown.

Thanks Gies for writing this work, and OSU Press for publishing it.

--Ashland Mystery

[Sidra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit, I didn't finish this book, so this is probably an unfair review, but as excited as I was to read this book and as wonderful as I thought the subject matter, this book left me a little flat. I expected to be drawn in emotionally to the lives of these "up all nighters" and just felt a bit disconnected.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting look into not only the way "the other half" lives, but also nearly all aspects of that other half--the good, the bad, and the ugly, as it were. The night shift truly is a whole other world, and it's fun to read about. Though I can see that there are certain advantages to working at night, this book also is showing me that it's probably not my thing.

[Taweewat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. You can see a lot going on through many people experiences for their night works. Some like it, some love it but some also hate it. Personal story is really interesting. However, there is no connection at all between each story making it less interesting and hard to finish once you go through half of the books.

[Lacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmmm. I really liked the idea of this book and enjoyed reading about the lives of these people who work all kinds of night jobs. But, I feel like the attempts at objectivity in the interviews and writings created a kind of sterility that was disappointing.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha Gies has written a very informative collection of short essays about working folks who work night shifts. Entertaining, and sometimes touching, I would recommend it to anyone who likes good non-fiction.