Thanks a Thousand by A.J. Jacobs

Title: Thanks a Thousand

Author: A.J. Jacobs

Read by:  Read by the Author

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 13 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon and Schuster.  Thank-you!

Thanks a Thousand is a great book for January as it details one man’s journey of gratitude.  Author A.J. Jacobs tries to find all the people responsible for his morning cup of coffee from the Barista to the coffee growers, to those who make the cups, and all of those in between.  It was an interesting journey and a great food for though on how lucky we are to have all that we have.  I thought it was also nice for those that were not on the front lines to also be appreciated.

As a water resources / environmental engineer, I was also happy that the water used to make the coffee was also discussed and the author visited the reservoir in upstate New York that supplies the City of New York.  I was a little sad though that one of the tour guides seemed to tell him that the solution to pollution is dilution when it comes to fish poop and didn’t get into the details of modern water treatment. 

I enjoyed listening to the author’s narration of the book.  It was like listening to a person narrate his personal journey to me over a cup of coffee.  I liked listening to his journey and how being thankful and expressing his thanks to various people made him overall more grateful in life.  It made me think about how I thank people and to make sure I look people in the eyes while thanking them.  It also reminded me that I am late writing my Christmas thank-you notes.

Overall, the book was entertaining and enjoyable and it really makes you think about gratitude. It was an inspiriting read.