Now in paperback, “one of the season’s most talked about cultural studies” (Los Angeles Times)—an incisive and irrever- ent appreciation of nerds that combines history, sociology, psy- chology, and memoir from noted journalist and self-proclaimed nerd Ben Nugent.Most   people   know   a nerd  when  they  see one,   but   yet   can’t define just what a nerd is exactly.  American Nerd: The Story of My People gives readers the history of the concept of nerdiness and its related subcultures. What makes Dr. Frankenstein the archetypal nerd? Where did the modern jock come from? When and how did being a self-described nerd become trendy? As the nerd emerged in the nineteenth century, and popped up again and again in college humor journals and sketch comedy, our culture obsessed over the phenomenon.  “Part history, part memoir, and all funny” (GQ), American Nerd is critically acclaimed writer Benjamin Nugent’s enter- taining fact-finding mission. He seeks the best definition of nerd and illuminates the com- mon ground between nerd sub- cultures that might seem unre- lated: high-school debate team kids and ham radio enthusiasts, medieval reenactors and pro- circuit videogame players. Why do the same people who like to work with computers also enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons? How are those activi- ties similar? This clever, enlight- ening book will appeal to the nerd (and anti-nerd) that lives  inside everyone.