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Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States
Dishwasher is the true story of a man on a mission: to clean dirty dishes professionally in every state in America. Part adventure, part parody, and part miraculous journey of self-discovery, it is the unforgettable account of Pete Jordan's transformation from itinerant seeker into "Dishwasher Pete"—unlikely folk hero, writer, publisher of his own cult zine, and the ultimate professional dish dog—and how he gave it all up for love.
Includes an excerpt from Pete Jordan's new book In the City of Bikes.
377 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 368 reviews
June 14, 2007
People compare this work to Kerouac's
On The Road
. Or at least, a blurb on the back cover of this book makes the comparison. I understand why. Here's a guy who looks at the conventional expectations of our society, shrugs them off, and hits the road. In this case, he aims to be a dishwasher in all 50 states.
I really wanted to like this book. The material was probably great as presented originally, in zine articles and pieces on the NPR radio show This American Life. The book is organized into vignettes, each focusing on a particular place in Jordan's dishwashing travels. A few of the vignettes described interesting characters or incidents. The problem is that Jordan just isn't a very good writer. Nothing really comes alive. The people he meets are not vividly described and most start merging together after a while. The dishwashing itself is described in depth, which is kind of cool, but Jordan's thoughts and motivations are often muddy, and come across instead as a compulsive zig-zag from place to place. Maybe that is because his travels really were a compulsive zig-zag, but it doesn't make for much of a narrative.
Worst of all, I thought that Jordan just seemed like, well, kind of a jerk. Putting one over on "the man" is one thing, but it seemed as though he'd just as soon screw over a small, mom and pop operation as steal from a corporate commissary. As I read about him bailing on people and places, one by one, I hoped for an interesting epiphany, or at least a little bit of reflection on his experience and how he felt about it. Instead, the book lurched to an abrupt halt, and we're left with nothing substantial at all.
This isn't a bad read -- just don't expect it to live up to the hype, and don't expect an author with much to say about the interesting life he chose to lead.
I really wanted to like this book. The material was probably great as presented originally, in zine articles and pieces on the NPR radio show This American Life. The book is organized into vignettes, each focusing on a particular place in Jordan's dishwashing travels. A few of the vignettes described interesting characters or incidents. The problem is that Jordan just isn't a very good writer. Nothing really comes alive. The people he meets are not vividly described and most start merging together after a while. The dishwashing itself is described in depth, which is kind of cool, but Jordan's thoughts and motivations are often muddy, and come across instead as a compulsive zig-zag from place to place. Maybe that is because his travels really were a compulsive zig-zag, but it doesn't make for much of a narrative.
Worst of all, I thought that Jordan just seemed like, well, kind of a jerk. Putting one over on "the man" is one thing, but it seemed as though he'd just as soon screw over a small, mom and pop operation as steal from a corporate commissary. As I read about him bailing on people and places, one by one, I hoped for an interesting epiphany, or at least a little bit of reflection on his experience and how he felt about it. Instead, the book lurched to an abrupt halt, and we're left with nothing substantial at all.
This isn't a bad read -- just don't expect it to live up to the hype, and don't expect an author with much to say about the interesting life he chose to lead.
May 25, 2007
hmm. the book itself is written just fine - it's breezy and quick and goes well with a couple of beers on the back porch.
it's just.... look, we've all quit a job once or twice in our lives without giving the two weeks' notice, leaving people in the lurch, bla bla bla. it's a dick move, but it feels great and it leaves you with a fun story that will impress impressionable people and depress your depression-era grandparents.
BUT! DUDE! if you do this with every job you take, in 33 states, for twelve years, you are not the freewheelin' bob dylan, the wanderin' dion dimucci, the smoothly operatin' sade, or the folk hero pete "johnny dishwashing-job-quitter-seed" jordan. no - you are just kind of a self-centered and irresponsible chump that quits a lot of jobs.
ok. i will now go back to lecturing today's younger generation about littering and energy conservation and the dangers of hitchhiking.
it's just.... look, we've all quit a job once or twice in our lives without giving the two weeks' notice, leaving people in the lurch, bla bla bla. it's a dick move, but it feels great and it leaves you with a fun story that will impress impressionable people and depress your depression-era grandparents.
BUT! DUDE! if you do this with every job you take, in 33 states, for twelve years, you are not the freewheelin' bob dylan, the wanderin' dion dimucci, the smoothly operatin' sade, or the folk hero pete "johnny dishwashing-job-quitter-seed" jordan. no - you are just kind of a self-centered and irresponsible chump that quits a lot of jobs.
ok. i will now go back to lecturing today's younger generation about littering and energy conservation and the dangers of hitchhiking.
April 25, 2008
You would think working as a dishwasher for 10+ years (as the author did) would yield some great stories and a heaping pile of insight into the human condition, but there isn't anything like that to be found here. Every chapter is exactly the same. "I got a job washing dishes in ______ state then quit." Way to go. Here's a book deal.
At many points while reading this book, I truly thought I'd really rather be washing dishes than reading this.
At many points while reading this book, I truly thought I'd really rather be washing dishes than reading this.
September 25, 2007
When I started this book, I wrote "I keep wondering when Pete will become a sympathetic protagonist. Right now he's...he's kind of a dick." The answer is: Never. Never does Pete become a sympathetic protagonist. He flippantly uses the term "plongeur morality" to describe his unreliability, and, frankly, it's really unappealing. The ending of the book is terribly abrupt, and I grew weary of his "I worked this job until I got sick of it and then quit leaving people in the lurch. TEE HEE AREN'T I AWESOME?" tales.
December 11, 2008
i'm kind of amazed at the bad reviews this book has gotten on the goodreads website. people are all, "i heard this guy on NPR & his story sounded interesting, but his book was a total bore!" it won't be surprising to people who know me that i knew about the dishwashing-in-all-fifty-states quest from "dishwasher" the zine. i won't claim to have read too many issues, because i was into riot grrrl when pete was publishing regularly, & our little zine scenes didn't have a lot of overlap. in fact, i was in a stage of my life where i only consumed media created by women. sorry, pete. i have read a few issues since then & they're not mind-blowing or anything, but they are pretty entertaining. but at the end of the day, it's washing dishes in all fifty states. it's not exactly fireworks & super-excitement, you know? but that doesn't mean that it's not interesting. this book is, thankfully, NOT an anthology of the "dishwasher" zines. surely, material from the zines makes its way into the book. but it's a memoir in its own right, composed of new material, & i thought it was really great. it was funny, poignant, interesting, educational...i mean, i am a picky rater & i gave it five stars. i clearly thought it was fantastic. maybe i am biased because i used to be a dishwasher myself, first at taco bell, & later in one of the food halls on the BGSU campus. i found both jobs hellish & physically exhausting, but strangely relaxing. just me & the dishes. it was meditative. combine this with epic travel & a whole lot of clever dishwashing/radical politics connections & we have a great book on our hands. some reviewers were like, "this guy was just a jerk. he would just quit jobs & leave people hanging. what an asshole!" have these people ever washed dishes? the whole point of having the goal be WASHING DISHES in every state, as opposed to, like, being a hostage negotiater in every state, is that washing dishes is pretty unskilled labor, making it an easy job to get, & an easy job to quit, because there's always someone else standing behind you, ready to don the apron for a few bucks. whatever.
February 11, 2008
man, i really wanted to like this book. i mean, i DID like this book for the first 100 pages or so--it's a highly readable account of one man's attempt to wash dishes in all 50 states, yet it's more of a meditation on the futility of working life & wage-slavery. cool, right? some parts even made me chuckle to myself.
but as time went on, i got increasingly frustrated with dishwasher pete's adult-baby-ness. and if there's one thing i hate, it's an adult baby, especially adult baby men. he talks about how cheaply he lives, but he's only able to do that on the backs of people--usually whatever lady he's dating--who feed him, let him crash on their floor (of the house/apartment that they're paying rent on, while pete pays nothing), etc.
and THEN! he eventually decides to stop dishing because he goes to a cracker barrel and sees...FAT PEOPLE?!?! THAT'S why he gives up his "career", because he doesn't want to be subservient to fat people? this literally comes out of nowhere, and it's really fucked up.
i really liked the bits of dishing history. it made me fond for my days spent next to the hobart at gay&lesbian summer camp, next to a loud landscaper dyke named kim who would bellow "we are the world" loud enough to be heard over the rinse cycle...i wish kim had written a book about her dish experiences instead.
i wouldn't say this book is a total thumbs down, because, as i said, it's highly readable & very interesting, just a little frustrating if you have adult babies in yr life.
but as time went on, i got increasingly frustrated with dishwasher pete's adult-baby-ness. and if there's one thing i hate, it's an adult baby, especially adult baby men. he talks about how cheaply he lives, but he's only able to do that on the backs of people--usually whatever lady he's dating--who feed him, let him crash on their floor (of the house/apartment that they're paying rent on, while pete pays nothing), etc.
and THEN! he eventually decides to stop dishing because he goes to a cracker barrel and sees...FAT PEOPLE?!?! THAT'S why he gives up his "career", because he doesn't want to be subservient to fat people? this literally comes out of nowhere, and it's really fucked up.
i really liked the bits of dishing history. it made me fond for my days spent next to the hobart at gay&lesbian summer camp, next to a loud landscaper dyke named kim who would bellow "we are the world" loud enough to be heard over the rinse cycle...i wish kim had written a book about her dish experiences instead.
i wouldn't say this book is a total thumbs down, because, as i said, it's highly readable & very interesting, just a little frustrating if you have adult babies in yr life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2010
Pete Jordan is no writer and, to his credit, never professes to be. He is a wanderer, a reader, a collector (of things and experiences), an activist and even a community organizer of sorts. The zine he created documenting his adventures as an itinerant dishwasher (aptly titled, as this book is, Dishwasher) seemed more of an attempt to create a community amidst dishwashers—a segment of the population that obviously is largely ignored—than to create any great literary achievement. Jordan even studied up on the history of the dish washing, becoming a sort of scholar of the profession and a scruffy purveyor of his wisdom to anyone interested. Those who were interested numbered in the tens of thousands by the time Jordan hung up his scouring pad for good and quit the profession.
Despite his popularity, however, Jordan eschewed fame and fortune, turning down multiple book deal offers, sending a friend in his place to appear on Letterman, and even rejecting filmmakers who approached him looking to cinematize the story of his life. This book didn't even come about until years after he'd stopped dish washing, married and moved to Amsterdam, where he became so broke he decided to contact some of the publishing houses who'd once courted him.
He doesn't consider himself a writer, and his book is not particularly well written. In the hands of a gifted scribe, someone in command of deep reflection and strong verbal wit and the depiction of colorful details, Dishwasher's tale of a man trying to wash dishes in all 50 states could have been something truly special. As it is, it's a likable, rambling thing penned by a likable lunk. The stories of life on the road are simply told, free of any sort of suspense or narrative momentum, but readable enough. What comes across the most strongly is Jordan himself, not so much through the force of his personality but more for the lack thereof. Dishwasher is a testament to what can happen when an easygoing dude just sits back and lets life take him where it wants to. We should all have a period of unstressful journeying.
Despite his popularity, however, Jordan eschewed fame and fortune, turning down multiple book deal offers, sending a friend in his place to appear on Letterman, and even rejecting filmmakers who approached him looking to cinematize the story of his life. This book didn't even come about until years after he'd stopped dish washing, married and moved to Amsterdam, where he became so broke he decided to contact some of the publishing houses who'd once courted him.
He doesn't consider himself a writer, and his book is not particularly well written. In the hands of a gifted scribe, someone in command of deep reflection and strong verbal wit and the depiction of colorful details, Dishwasher's tale of a man trying to wash dishes in all 50 states could have been something truly special. As it is, it's a likable, rambling thing penned by a likable lunk. The stories of life on the road are simply told, free of any sort of suspense or narrative momentum, but readable enough. What comes across the most strongly is Jordan himself, not so much through the force of his personality but more for the lack thereof. Dishwasher is a testament to what can happen when an easygoing dude just sits back and lets life take him where it wants to. We should all have a period of unstressful journeying.
February 8, 2023
Terrific book. Like when sampling one of the offerings of the few zinesters to get it in book form (Pagan Kennedy, Paul Lukas), you're getting a real phenomenon of as-lived reportage for your trade paperback time and money.
I can't say more, because it's such a varied and surprising pleasure to read, chapter by chapter. Indie-rockers and Kerouac readers, et al., actually travel the country through, which is a nice counter, particularly these days, to incurious-and-hostile types. (Remember the Dambuilders' attempt to write a song for each of the fifty states? Spread out over albums and 7" records, I can't remember how far they got ... ) You really do have to scare up tales from folks firsthand to find out how they live! And how better else than by rolling up your sleeves and plunging your arms into the hot, hot water.
Portlanders will delight in finding the recently-elected City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly featured in these pages, as a noted host of Pete's zines (and his bodily frame) during his journeys.
I can't say more, because it's such a varied and surprising pleasure to read, chapter by chapter. Indie-rockers and Kerouac readers, et al., actually travel the country through, which is a nice counter, particularly these days, to incurious-and-hostile types. (Remember the Dambuilders' attempt to write a song for each of the fifty states? Spread out over albums and 7" records, I can't remember how far they got ... ) You really do have to scare up tales from folks firsthand to find out how they live! And how better else than by rolling up your sleeves and plunging your arms into the hot, hot water.
Portlanders will delight in finding the recently-elected City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly featured in these pages, as a noted host of Pete's zines (and his bodily frame) during his journeys.
December 5, 2015
270 pages of really, really interesting slices of Americana, which are ultimately failed by the lackluster ending. While the blurb claims Jordan ended his quest "for love", it reads more like, "eh, that one'll do, seeing as how she's not running away." It's that or he wanted health insurance after a bike crash. I'm not sure which.
But if you overlook the ending, there are some beautifully descriptive and vivid glimpses of back-of-the-house restaurant life, where we're defining back-of-the-house as out back where the cooks all go to get high while the dishwasher catches up. And as someone who spent serious time in the back of that house, I loved it.
I especially loved getting a little thrill of recognition at one particular corporate outfit on a university campus whose insistence on monkey outfits made Jordan quit after 5 minutes. I lasted at that place for nearly a year and Jordan reminded me very strongly of the people who worked there; that's not a recommendation.
In sum: good if you overlook the ending.
But if you overlook the ending, there are some beautifully descriptive and vivid glimpses of back-of-the-house restaurant life, where we're defining back-of-the-house as out back where the cooks all go to get high while the dishwasher catches up. And as someone who spent serious time in the back of that house, I loved it.
I especially loved getting a little thrill of recognition at one particular corporate outfit on a university campus whose insistence on monkey outfits made Jordan quit after 5 minutes. I lasted at that place for nearly a year and Jordan reminded me very strongly of the people who worked there; that's not a recommendation.
In sum: good if you overlook the ending.
July 17, 2007
I adored Pete Jordan's utter lack of ambition while achieving so much in this epic tale of a quest to wash dishes in all 50 states. For while he shirks all notions of the American Dream, aka moving up in the business to 'cook' or 'waiter', he spends a lot of his 'sitting on his ass' time reading great, classic novels or writing passages for his Zine, Dishwasher. I am all for the idea of self-improvement and self-awareness while not contributing too much to the rat race of the American working life. Reading this book made me want to move to Portland, make some friends and couch surf around the countryside.
September 5, 2015
Made me feel better about my own lack of ambition. He quits a lot of jobs, and it feels good to read about it. Imagine a supervisor trying to take advantage of you somehow, or just generally being a jerk. Then imagine having the freedom to never show up to your job again, without explanation.
March 8, 2013
This is the sort of book you almost have to be a directionless slacker to enjoy. This is the story of an obviously intelligent but incredibly lazy Gen Xer who decided to bum around the country washing dishes in all 50 states from the late 80's through 2001. He picked the dishwasher "profession" because it offered him free food, no customer interaction, and the ability to leave without notice whenever he felt like it. This is the story of a guy so pathetic and afraid of becoming useful that he does this until he's 35. And contrary to publisher hype, this is not really the story of how he washed dishes in all 50 states, because even given 13 years he didn't come close to finishing. This is the story of how he spent 13 years washing dishes, then realized he'd wasted his entire adult life up until that point on a silly quest to avoid responsibility that he'd started when he was 18.
Jordan had no direction to his wandering, no point, and no plan - and most of the time he just visited the same places over and over again. He spends half of the book in Portland, but "the true story of one man's quest to be the biggest slacker on earth in a city full of slackers" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it. Really, this is a book that should not be, and the author pretty much admits as much at the end. According to the "P.S" in the back, the book only exists at all because the publisher's agent offered the author free food. And while Jordan does write in an engaging style that keeps the pages turning, he himself admits at the end that the entire "quest" was thoroughly pointless because he didn't have the self-discipline to see it through. I bought this book for the publisher's hype, and it's really not what you get in the end. If Jordan had actually finished his "quest" it might have been interesting. But because he didn't, this book is likely to be a waste of money for all but the most dedicated of crunchy slackers.
Jordan had no direction to his wandering, no point, and no plan - and most of the time he just visited the same places over and over again. He spends half of the book in Portland, but "the true story of one man's quest to be the biggest slacker on earth in a city full of slackers" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it. Really, this is a book that should not be, and the author pretty much admits as much at the end. According to the "P.S" in the back, the book only exists at all because the publisher's agent offered the author free food. And while Jordan does write in an engaging style that keeps the pages turning, he himself admits at the end that the entire "quest" was thoroughly pointless because he didn't have the self-discipline to see it through. I bought this book for the publisher's hype, and it's really not what you get in the end. If Jordan had actually finished his "quest" it might have been interesting. But because he didn't, this book is likely to be a waste of money for all but the most dedicated of crunchy slackers.
March 27, 2025
My kind of stupid book..... ie.
But I still complied with Jack in the Box’s rules by digging through the collection of old nametags and choosing one with a name least like my own: Tawasha, Shondrella, Shawanda. “Shawanda! Can you move any fuckin’ slower?” “Yep,” I said, then shuffled in half-inch steps toward him with his milkshake. “See, I can move a lot slower.” “Just gimme my food, asshole!” “Wait, you haven’t seen how slow I can move.” I stopped dead in my tracks.

But I still complied with Jack in the Box’s rules by digging through the collection of old nametags and choosing one with a name least like my own: Tawasha, Shondrella, Shawanda. “Shawanda! Can you move any fuckin’ slower?” “Yep,” I said, then shuffled in half-inch steps toward him with his milkshake. “See, I can move a lot slower.” “Just gimme my food, asshole!” “Wait, you haven’t seen how slow I can move.” I stopped dead in my tracks.

June 24, 2009
It was the summer of 1999. I was on the last day of my cross-country Printing Tour, in which I drove from West Coast to East, printing my zine at different letterpress printshops across the country. I stopped in Portland for the last leg of the tour, printing at the IPRC (which had two teeeeny Kelsey tabletop presses!) and staying for a week at the Quack House, a punk collective house in north Portland so named for the ducks that had once lived there. My former housemate had since moved in, and she informed me upon my arrival that they were having a party that night and I was going to get to meet Dishwasher Pete.
I was pretty excited. I had been a fan of Dishwasher zine and had both t-shirts (still have 'em). I think the interaction went like so:
Pete: Hi.
Me: Hi.
[long silence:]
Me: I like your zine.
Pete: Thanks. I like your zine.
Me: Thanks.
[reallly long silence:]
And that was it. The party raged on until late. I was offered a room in the basement for the night while that housemate was sleeping over elsewhere, which was great because I had resolved to sleep ANYWHERE in the house except the "piss couch."
It's hard to explain to people now how famous zine writers used to be. I mean, I guess we still have Aaron and Al and Cindy. (But have any of them ever been invited to go on Letterman?) Even just last week, I was telling someone that if I quit doing my zine, I'd be like Dishwasher Pete, who's not Dishwasher Pete anymore; he's just some guy that used to do that zine. My friend assured me that moniker or not, Pete is living an enjoyable life. I went to the library, and this book was in it.
It's the story of a guy who sets out to wash dishes in all 50 states. And he writes a zine about it. He weaves fascinating tales about all the cruddy places he works in and the people he meets. For me, there's an added bonus because I know a number of the people he makes reference to. Erin, Lara, Rebecca, Amy-Joy, Chloe--- met 'em all. I even know who the anonymous friends in Pittsburgh are.
And that's the other funny part--- he and Amy-Joy at one point decide to leave Portland. Forgive the long passage, but I just had to quote it. After recounting all the methods of narrowing down a place for he and his partner to settle in, he says:
"It was a good size city and had numerous old and interesting neighborhoods. Though it was still somewhat decaying since its industrial glory days had ended, it was tree-filled, river-lined, and hilly. The people I knew there were all nice. And it seemed like a place I'd remain excited about each time I woke up and slowly realized where I was. Most important, it had heaps of cheap houses that even a cheap dishman could afford. It was back in state #21--- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When I told Amy-Joy it was my destination, she eagerly packed up her stuff and threw it in [the truck:]. She left behind her life in Portland to move two thousand miles away to a town she'd never seen before."
On the one hand, it's a story about a dishwasher, but really, it's a story about someone who decides he doesn't want to continue with the goal he's been pursuing for over a decade. So he wanted to wash dishes in 50 states? And if he doesn't any more? If he changes his mind? What if this time the girl is more important than the dishes?
I was pretty excited. I had been a fan of Dishwasher zine and had both t-shirts (still have 'em). I think the interaction went like so:
Pete: Hi.
Me: Hi.
[long silence:]
Me: I like your zine.
Pete: Thanks. I like your zine.
Me: Thanks.
[reallly long silence:]
And that was it. The party raged on until late. I was offered a room in the basement for the night while that housemate was sleeping over elsewhere, which was great because I had resolved to sleep ANYWHERE in the house except the "piss couch."
It's hard to explain to people now how famous zine writers used to be. I mean, I guess we still have Aaron and Al and Cindy. (But have any of them ever been invited to go on Letterman?) Even just last week, I was telling someone that if I quit doing my zine, I'd be like Dishwasher Pete, who's not Dishwasher Pete anymore; he's just some guy that used to do that zine. My friend assured me that moniker or not, Pete is living an enjoyable life. I went to the library, and this book was in it.
It's the story of a guy who sets out to wash dishes in all 50 states. And he writes a zine about it. He weaves fascinating tales about all the cruddy places he works in and the people he meets. For me, there's an added bonus because I know a number of the people he makes reference to. Erin, Lara, Rebecca, Amy-Joy, Chloe--- met 'em all. I even know who the anonymous friends in Pittsburgh are.
And that's the other funny part--- he and Amy-Joy at one point decide to leave Portland. Forgive the long passage, but I just had to quote it. After recounting all the methods of narrowing down a place for he and his partner to settle in, he says:
"It was a good size city and had numerous old and interesting neighborhoods. Though it was still somewhat decaying since its industrial glory days had ended, it was tree-filled, river-lined, and hilly. The people I knew there were all nice. And it seemed like a place I'd remain excited about each time I woke up and slowly realized where I was. Most important, it had heaps of cheap houses that even a cheap dishman could afford. It was back in state #21--- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When I told Amy-Joy it was my destination, she eagerly packed up her stuff and threw it in [the truck:]. She left behind her life in Portland to move two thousand miles away to a town she'd never seen before."
On the one hand, it's a story about a dishwasher, but really, it's a story about someone who decides he doesn't want to continue with the goal he's been pursuing for over a decade. So he wanted to wash dishes in 50 states? And if he doesn't any more? If he changes his mind? What if this time the girl is more important than the dishes?
January 28, 2019
I finished Dishwasher this afternoon after having started it about four months ago; that is not to imply anything negative about Jordan’s book but far more about the crazy state of my reading habits.
Dishwasher is a marvellous book about a topic that is simply not on any person’s radar and he admits it on page 322 that of 505 occupations on the pay scale of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dishwashing came dead last. You must pay attention to any examination of a topic so far down in people’s conception of what constitutes employment and then you must give Jordon great credit for writing a book both interesting from a job point of view and interesting from a human point of view.
There are particular work-sites that I certainly remember. For instance number one In Alaska at a salmon canning place where you had to fly to because there was no road connection. In New Orleans where he could not get a job because he wasn’t African-American and no restaurant owner thought that a white guy would stay very long. He worked in an upstate New York kosher restaurant in a holiday resort where kosher and non-kosher dishes must be washed separately (but sometimes didn’t). Then back to Louisiana for work on an oil rig in the Gulf and then on to a commune in Missouri. Finally, he completed one of his dreams and that was to work on a passenger train but the only problem was Amtrak only used vending machines so there was no cooking. He did get a job on a dinner train in Rhode Island but it was the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Jordan is a good writer with a wealth of stories to tell; if this book is still around in discount bins pick it up and I am sure you will enjoy the adventure.
Dishwasher is a marvellous book about a topic that is simply not on any person’s radar and he admits it on page 322 that of 505 occupations on the pay scale of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dishwashing came dead last. You must pay attention to any examination of a topic so far down in people’s conception of what constitutes employment and then you must give Jordon great credit for writing a book both interesting from a job point of view and interesting from a human point of view.
There are particular work-sites that I certainly remember. For instance number one In Alaska at a salmon canning place where you had to fly to because there was no road connection. In New Orleans where he could not get a job because he wasn’t African-American and no restaurant owner thought that a white guy would stay very long. He worked in an upstate New York kosher restaurant in a holiday resort where kosher and non-kosher dishes must be washed separately (but sometimes didn’t). Then back to Louisiana for work on an oil rig in the Gulf and then on to a commune in Missouri. Finally, he completed one of his dreams and that was to work on a passenger train but the only problem was Amtrak only used vending machines so there was no cooking. He did get a job on a dinner train in Rhode Island but it was the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Jordan is a good writer with a wealth of stories to tell; if this book is still around in discount bins pick it up and I am sure you will enjoy the adventure.
July 22, 2008
If you know me well, you know that I'm compulsive about finishing books I start. There have been a precious few books I've put away w/out finishing, no matter how miserable I was during the process of reading them. Well, this book beat me just 50 pages in.
I asked my husband (who managed to get 3/4 through before putting it down, though he's a chronic book-not-finisher), "Does this guy change any, or is he this big of an asshole all the way through?" Husband responded, "Nope, doesn't change." That was enough for me to know.
I had such high hopes for this book. I have a soft spot for any book about anyone with wanderlust who flits around the U.S. I even enjoyed Into the Wild an its doomed hero, despite his careless self-absorption. And I've heard Pete Jordan on This American Life and wasn't at all put off by him in that context. But dang... this guy's got to be the laziest, most self-absorbed loser (and proud of it) to ever be published. It's one thing to "follow your bliss." It's quite another to constantly screw people over along the way, and become none the better for it yourself.
Maybe I'd have found some redeeming if I just stuck with it and tried a bit harder, but if Jordan can't do that with a single damn job, why should I bother giving his book the favor?
I asked my husband (who managed to get 3/4 through before putting it down, though he's a chronic book-not-finisher), "Does this guy change any, or is he this big of an asshole all the way through?" Husband responded, "Nope, doesn't change." That was enough for me to know.
I had such high hopes for this book. I have a soft spot for any book about anyone with wanderlust who flits around the U.S. I even enjoyed Into the Wild an its doomed hero, despite his careless self-absorption. And I've heard Pete Jordan on This American Life and wasn't at all put off by him in that context. But dang... this guy's got to be the laziest, most self-absorbed loser (and proud of it) to ever be published. It's one thing to "follow your bliss." It's quite another to constantly screw people over along the way, and become none the better for it yourself.
Maybe I'd have found some redeeming if I just stuck with it and tried a bit harder, but if Jordan can't do that with a single damn job, why should I bother giving his book the favor?
August 6, 2007
Dishwasher follow “Dishwasher Pete” Jordan as he goes on a self-appointed quest to work as a dishwasher in all 50 states. It starts out with his humble beginnings in San Francisco, as Pete easily explains his general dislike of work and the annoyances of colleagues and customers. Pete has more id than anyone—while most people put up with crappy work, he just leaves. Since dishwashing is among the crappiest jobs, he can always find somewhere else that needs him.
Jordan has several good stories, including working at a salmon cannery in Alaska, an oil rig in Louisiana, and the Hell Train in Rhode Island. He lovingly talks about big cities like New York, Portland, and even Pittsburgh, but also spreads his affection to things like macaroni and cheese boxes and finding change on the ground.
As I read through Dishwasher, my work ethic plunged. Thankfully, by the book’s end, Pete does come up with more concrete life goals, and realizes that he probably needs to get a desk job. His move to Amsterdam at the end of the book could’ve been a bit better explained; I guess he’s seen all that he needs to of America.
Jordan has several good stories, including working at a salmon cannery in Alaska, an oil rig in Louisiana, and the Hell Train in Rhode Island. He lovingly talks about big cities like New York, Portland, and even Pittsburgh, but also spreads his affection to things like macaroni and cheese boxes and finding change on the ground.
As I read through Dishwasher, my work ethic plunged. Thankfully, by the book’s end, Pete does come up with more concrete life goals, and realizes that he probably needs to get a desk job. His move to Amsterdam at the end of the book could’ve been a bit better explained; I guess he’s seen all that he needs to of America.
February 19, 2011
While no literary masterpiece, this book was a fun read, especially for fans of vagabond travel, minimalism, and voluntary simplicity. In the early 90s, Pete Jordan set a goal of washing dishes in all fifty states. Why dish washing? He was good at it, restaurants are always hiring dishwashers because of the high turnover rate, and there are no strings attached. He could get a job and leave it the same day if he didn't like it without having to worry about the future of his career.
So, Pete gets rid of most of his stuff, packs what's left into a garbage bag, and sets out. Over the course of the journey he goes through several vans, aspires to cheap home ownership in Kansas, washes dishes on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, and publishes a zine that lands him a huge following.
Towards the end the book becomes more of a collection of dishwashing/travel vignettes than a true narrative, but it works. It's entertaining. And, given the rise of the minimalist movement, well worth reading. Pete Jordan was living a location independent lifestyle with less than 100 things well before the minimalist movement of 2009/10 took root.
So, Pete gets rid of most of his stuff, packs what's left into a garbage bag, and sets out. Over the course of the journey he goes through several vans, aspires to cheap home ownership in Kansas, washes dishes on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, and publishes a zine that lands him a huge following.
Towards the end the book becomes more of a collection of dishwashing/travel vignettes than a true narrative, but it works. It's entertaining. And, given the rise of the minimalist movement, well worth reading. Pete Jordan was living a location independent lifestyle with less than 100 things well before the minimalist movement of 2009/10 took root.
March 9, 2011
sorry npr but this book is super lame. man sets out to wash dishes in every state, doesnt actually complete the goal (ahhh spoilered bitch!) has some vaguely wacky adventures but not really, most of the time is just picking food boogers off his arm. there are potentially cool themese here - transience! organizing labor! forever living fifty dollars away from complete devastation! - but at no point does he dig fuckin deep and start expounding on it. this is just goofy anecdotes that are mostly the same once you get past chapter 3. 'i fast when im out of work, and then i eat the free food. sometiems someone gives me a beer! just a day in life of rude dish dude. heres famous guy who washed a dish once'
as he mentions multiple times theroughout book, a cool book about bum dishwashers is orwells Down and Out in London and Paris or w/e its called
as he mentions multiple times theroughout book, a cool book about bum dishwashers is orwells Down and Out in London and Paris or w/e its called
September 22, 2025
My friend Pete wrote it. He's an interesting dude. The book is observant, witty, at times well researched, and very entertaining. Sometimes taking life in the "slow lane" is the way to fulfillment. Pete's proved it. Read it.
April 22, 2019
A quintessential American road story. The wandering protagonist here is an incarnation of independence, irreverence and defiance of authority. This book is so uniquely American, I would say, that it should be required reading in every high school in the United States. This will never happen, of course, since the rampant freedom the book embodies, and which Americans are always idealizing so proudly, are not the values we actually want American children to adopt and live by. We groom our citizens instead to be slaves, to be servants -- even if well-paid ones. This is the brilliant irony of the book. That Dishwasher Pete takes on this ‘slave’ role, and then uses the freedom it gives him to rub his ‘slavery’ in the face of the ‘master’--showing that it is the ‘master,’ in fact, who is truly the slave.
Read
September 16, 2019Next time, you see a help wanted Dish Washer sign in a restaurant window, you will not think about that job position, in the same way...ever again.
July 4, 2024
This book gave me PTSD to washing dishes at Jersey Mikes for 3 years
Book was entertaining enough to read, but it was more quirky stories than anything profound.
Book was entertaining enough to read, but it was more quirky stories than anything profound.
September 6, 2021
I had only worked at one restaurant for about 4 or 5 months, several years earlier, before reading this book. About 4 months after reading it, I would start my second restaurant job, where I would stay for a whole year. Did this book influence my interest in returning to the industry? Perhaps, perhaps. But I first discovered it through a crude, depressing internet search--"I hate my job" or some variant of that--as a series of vignettes on a type of blog or e-publication. Though it did not speak specifically to my situation at that post-college/aimless period, I found its lighthearted tone comforting. Here, there were other people that did not care about making tons of money and harboring all of those "dreams" about starting a family, buying a home, etc. Yet for the author, they happened anyways, as he found his way as a writer through this--a Sufjan-Stevens-esque challenge of working a dishwashing job in all 50 states.
This is a light read, entertaining and humorous, but it gets 4 stars because it is THE BOOK about Dishwashing. No one could write a more important book for the task, or the occupation. Reading this book will make one a better dishwasher. It will also likely heighten one's empathy for those workers at the very bottom of the rung, who work for almost nothing and manage to make a living by only eating leftover food at the restaurant. Though the author obviously did not lack ambition in the end, the message is not lost: NOT ALL OF US ARE GOING TO MOVE MOUNTAINS. Not everyone is special, talented, smart, clever, and successful in their careers. AND THAT IS COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY FINE. We all find our way, eventually.
http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2009...
This is a light read, entertaining and humorous, but it gets 4 stars because it is THE BOOK about Dishwashing. No one could write a more important book for the task, or the occupation. Reading this book will make one a better dishwasher. It will also likely heighten one's empathy for those workers at the very bottom of the rung, who work for almost nothing and manage to make a living by only eating leftover food at the restaurant. Though the author obviously did not lack ambition in the end, the message is not lost: NOT ALL OF US ARE GOING TO MOVE MOUNTAINS. Not everyone is special, talented, smart, clever, and successful in their careers. AND THAT IS COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY FINE. We all find our way, eventually.
http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2009...
February 22, 2019
This was fun to read, though nothing earth-shattering. It's about a guy who decides to spend his life bumming around because he's fundamentally lazy. Washing dishes in all fifty states becomes his life's goal. Okay, fine.
There are lots of interesting stories. My favorite bit was where he was invited to go on Letterman, but let his friend go on the show instead of him. The friend pretended to be Dishwasher Pete, while the real Pete watched from the green room, enjoying free snacks. (You can check this out on YouTube. The friend ended the segment by lighting his hand on fire and trying to use it to light Letterman's cigar. It didn't work only because Letterman freaked out.)
Pete never got around to dishing in the last dozen or so of the fifty states, because somewhere along the journey he grew up. There was an epiphany in the dish pit of a co-op grocery kitchen in Philadelphia. (Or someplace. The details are already foggy.) Every dish was supposed to be plain white, but somehow a blue-rimmed plate made its way into the fray. Pete would see this singular dish come through up to a half-dozen times per day. It was unnerving. He was hit hard by the ultimate futility of dish-washing. The plate died a horrible, if possibly well-deserved, death.
So while not earth-shattering, this book was at least dish-shattering. I enjoyed reading it.
There are lots of interesting stories. My favorite bit was where he was invited to go on Letterman, but let his friend go on the show instead of him. The friend pretended to be Dishwasher Pete, while the real Pete watched from the green room, enjoying free snacks. (You can check this out on YouTube. The friend ended the segment by lighting his hand on fire and trying to use it to light Letterman's cigar. It didn't work only because Letterman freaked out.)
Pete never got around to dishing in the last dozen or so of the fifty states, because somewhere along the journey he grew up. There was an epiphany in the dish pit of a co-op grocery kitchen in Philadelphia. (Or someplace. The details are already foggy.) Every dish was supposed to be plain white, but somehow a blue-rimmed plate made its way into the fray. Pete would see this singular dish come through up to a half-dozen times per day. It was unnerving. He was hit hard by the ultimate futility of dish-washing. The plate died a horrible, if possibly well-deserved, death.
So while not earth-shattering, this book was at least dish-shattering. I enjoyed reading it.
May 21, 2013
I worried, at first, that this was going to read like a how-to manual, but my fears were rendered totally unfounded just a few pages in.
Why?
Because Pete Jordan is an undersung labour hero, that's why!
Case in point: "When I quit, I felt obligated to honor the memory of those pearl divers who'd passed through the pit before me. So I taped a piece of paper to the front of the [University of Wisconsin's] Memorial Union. On it, I'd written: On this spot in March 1972, fifteen dishwashers fought for workers' rights by staging a successful wildcat strike. And I, for one, thank them."(pp. 237-238)
So do I, Pete! So do I...
As you might have guessed from the subtitle, there's a whole helluva lot of traveling in Dishwasher as Pete busts suds at a camp in Alaska, on an oil rig in The Gulf of Mexico, and on a train in Rhode Island. I was most amazed by the ease with which he quit so many gigs, but this book isn't really about extolling the virtues of abject irresponsibility. Instead, it's about figuring your shit out in a very public way and landing, still (somehow) semi-intact, right smack on your face.
Highly recommended!
Why?
Because Pete Jordan is an undersung labour hero, that's why!
Case in point: "When I quit, I felt obligated to honor the memory of those pearl divers who'd passed through the pit before me. So I taped a piece of paper to the front of the [University of Wisconsin's] Memorial Union. On it, I'd written: On this spot in March 1972, fifteen dishwashers fought for workers' rights by staging a successful wildcat strike. And I, for one, thank them."(pp. 237-238)
So do I, Pete! So do I...
As you might have guessed from the subtitle, there's a whole helluva lot of traveling in Dishwasher as Pete busts suds at a camp in Alaska, on an oil rig in The Gulf of Mexico, and on a train in Rhode Island. I was most amazed by the ease with which he quit so many gigs, but this book isn't really about extolling the virtues of abject irresponsibility. Instead, it's about figuring your shit out in a very public way and landing, still (somehow) semi-intact, right smack on your face.
Highly recommended!
December 31, 2014
After Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, I was of course compelled to follow up and follow through with Jordan's Dishwasher. Not in the same class (of writing), but a good, engaging read, nevertheless.
As a profession, plongeur leaves something to be desired. After all, who really wants to live breathe eat cold greasy water, have scaley red hands and aching feet? Oh, and did I mention the bus tub buffet, one of Jordan's employment criteria and written into the dishwasher contract at the University of Wisconsin Madison? Jobs are readily available though, and make a transitory life possible, even inviting, if marginal. Jordan makes it through the support of friends and readers, and his zen approach to his mission is sometimes hysterical, often ridiculous, and should be - on occasion - frightening, but somehow is not.
What a way to research labor unions - and make friends! Nicely fills a niche in back of the house food writing.
--Ashland Mystery
As a profession, plongeur leaves something to be desired. After all, who really wants to live breathe eat cold greasy water, have scaley red hands and aching feet? Oh, and did I mention the bus tub buffet, one of Jordan's employment criteria and written into the dishwasher contract at the University of Wisconsin Madison? Jobs are readily available though, and make a transitory life possible, even inviting, if marginal. Jordan makes it through the support of friends and readers, and his zen approach to his mission is sometimes hysterical, often ridiculous, and should be - on occasion - frightening, but somehow is not.
What a way to research labor unions - and make friends! Nicely fills a niche in back of the house food writing.
--Ashland Mystery
April 22, 2014
I kept waiting for this guy to "get a life". Actually I knew that he would leave the dishwashing "profession" because before this book I had picked up Biking in Amsterdam which he wrote. I knew he had a degree in urban planning and that he appeared semi-normal in the first few chapters of Biking in Amsterdam (which I had begun and then gotten sidetracked in Dishwashing). Some part of me applauded Pete. He truly exemplified the road less traveled. Did I keep reading to see if he ever changed? Yes. Did he change? Did he evolve? Did he come to gaspingly insightful conclusions on the human condition? Heck No, no and no. Was the book entertaining? Highly. Valuable? Yes, actually. Serendipitous that I found it. I may go and do something likewisingly similar.
July 31, 2011
I feel like this book was on a list somewhere. I ended up just wondering the aisles at the lib a few weeks ago when I had some time to kill (always dangerous) and pulled this book. I stopped right then before I left with too much.
Anyway, this book was pretty good. Dude always wants to see what is over the hill and was always travelling. He travelled for 10 years, from 1990 to 2000, washing dishes around the US. I loved the pre-internetness of this book. At the end, he got a little whiny how he wanted to settle down, but everything was too expensive and he had no skills. Whose fault is that?! But as a travelling book, I really liked it a lot.
Anyway, this book was pretty good. Dude always wants to see what is over the hill and was always travelling. He travelled for 10 years, from 1990 to 2000, washing dishes around the US. I loved the pre-internetness of this book. At the end, he got a little whiny how he wanted to settle down, but everything was too expensive and he had no skills. Whose fault is that?! But as a travelling book, I really liked it a lot.
October 27, 2015
A man with little career aspirations decides he wants to be a dishwasher. Somewhere between job #1 and job 5 he decides he wants to wash dishes in all 50 states, on a train, in dinner theaters, and cafeterias. Aside from the protagonist, the characters are pretty flat and one-dimensional. The reader encounters various unlikable characters, one of whom becomes the protagonist's wife. The book ends abruptly with no resolution. I got this book on a whim, thinking it would be a fun read. Instead it's monotonous and repetitive. Did not like; would not recommend.
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