Nikil Saval graduated from Columbia in 2004 and went straight into the publishing industry as an editorial assistant. Around that time he started researching the origins of the office, which led to his n+1 article ""The Birth of the Office."" He is now an editor of n+1 and also writes for Slate, The New York Times, The London Review of Books, Oxford American, The LA Times, The Huffington Post, and The New Statesman.
Praise for Cubed
..". Excellent ... fresh and intellectually omnivorous ... Saval is
a vigorous writer, and a thoughtful one. What puts him above the
rank of most nonfiction authors, even some of the better ones, is
that he doesn't merely present information. He turns each new fact
over in his mind, right in front of you, holding it to the
light."
--Dwight Garner, The New York Times
"Cubed is...a pleasure to read: beautifully written and clearly
organized. Since many Americans now, women as well as men, spend
more than half their waking hours at work, it's also an important
exploration."
--Richard Sennett, The New York Times Book Review
"Lush, funny, and unexpectedly fascinating ... [G]enius ... Cubed
stands as one of those books readers can open to any page and find
the kind of insight they'll want to yank strangers out of their bus
or subway seats and repeat ... [A] beautifully written, original,
and essential masterpiece."
--Jerry Stahl, Bookforum
"There are a lot of books about work... but Cubed offers something
different: an entertaining look at the history of the modern worker
that the modern worker can actually learn from."
--Rosecrans Baldwin, NPR
"Impressive... Beautifully written... delightfully readable..."
--Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books
"Thorough and diligent...Saval works hard, and effectively, to
demonstrate how the evolution of workspaces paralleled social
shifts in the workforce that we're still living out.... Saval is a
tireless researcher, and he turns phrases with a flair that would
get an Organization Man fired."
--Jennifer Howard, The Washington Post Book World
..". Cleverly pieced together...subtle and sophisticated."
--Jill Lepore, The New Yorker
"Nikil Saval's new book, Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace,
is a fascinating guide to the intellectual history of the American
office. Part cultural history, part architectural analysis and part
management theory--with some labor economics, gender studies and
pop culture thrown in for good measure--the book is a smart look at
the evolution of the place where we spend so much of our
lives."
--The Washington Post
"In his first book, Saval sets out to chronicle the evolution of
the American office from airless prison to what it is today,
reflecting upon the transformation of the office worker from
emasculated novelty to unremarkable figure of ubiquity. To
accomplish this, he synthesizes an impressive number of books,
films, articles, and first-person accounts relating to the daunting
number of historical forces and ideologies that have shaped
white-collar work: architecture, philosophy, labor disputes, class
conflict, the women's movement, and technological advances, just to
name a few. Saval considers each of them, forming a cogent and
compelling narrative that could very easily have been scattered or
deathly dull. To keep things lively, Saval deploys deft analytical
skills and a tone that's frequently bemused, making difficult and
important concepts palatable to the casual reader."
--The Boston Globe
"Over the past week, as I've been carrying around a copy of Nikil
Saval's Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace, I've gotten some
quizzical looks. 'It's a history of the office, ' I'd explain,
whereupon a good number of people would respond, 'Well, that sounds
boring.' It isn't. In fact, Cubed is anything but... Saval's book
glides smoothly between his two primary subjects: the physical
structure of offices and the social institutions of white-collar
work over the past 150 years or so. Cubed encompasses everything
from the rise of the skyscraper to the entrance of women in the
workplace to the mid-20th-century angst over grey-flannel-suit
conformity to the dorm-like 'fun' workplaces of Silicon Valley. His
stance is skeptical, a welcome approach given that most writings on
the contemporary workplace are rife with dubious claims to
revolutionary innovation--office design or management gimmicks that
bestselling authors indiscriminately pounce on like magpies seizing
glittering bits of trash."
--Salon.com
"Five days a week I commute to a skyscraper in the main business
district of a large city and sit at a desk within whispering
distance of another desk. Whatever the word 'work' used to conjure,
my version is now quite standard. About 40 million Americans make a
living in some sort of cubicle. Are we happy about that? The
likelihood that we are not is central to Nikil Saval's impressive
debut, Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace."
--The New Republic
..". Formidable ... Beautifully rendered ... Sections of the book
shine--especially when it discusses gender in the workplace ... The
elegance of his prose and the intensity of his moral commitment
linger."
--The Nation
..". Cubed is so stimulating, so filled with terrific material and
shrewd observations, that it's a must-read for anyone pondering how
America arrived at its current state of white-collar
under-employment and economic insecurity."
--The Daily Beast
..".[A] sharp and absorbing history of the office."
--The Economist
"Saval's book... stands out as one of the best pop histories to
come out in years, and on a topic that most of us (statistically
speaking) can relate to."
--Fast Company
"[An] absorbing history of office life...It sits cheerily between
the academic and the journalistic register...Saval's style is
nicely spiked with colloquialism... [His] debunking temper serves
him well."
--The Guardian
..". An entertaining read ... Saval's readings of pop culture
representations of the office and its workers add a lively and
ironic perspective."
--Publishers Weekly
"Ferociously lucid and witty."
--Kirkus Reviews
"A sprightly historical tour of the vexed, overplanned world of the
modern workplace."
--In These Times
"Why did no one write this necessary book before now? Never mind:
it wouldn't have been as good. Cubed has that combination of
inevitability and surprise that marks the best writing--and
thinking."
--Benjamin Kunkel, author of Indecision
"Required reading for anyone who works in an office, and for those
fortunate enough to have escaped."
--Ed Park, author of Personal Days
"Nikil Saval is a superstar! He does for offices what Foucault did
for prisons and hospitals, transforming a seemingly static, purely
functional, self-evident institution into a rich human story, full
of good and bad intentions, chance, and historical forces. Reading
Cubed is like watching an amazing magic trick where the very
boringness of the office turns out to be what is the most
interesting. I found myself wishing he would do waiting rooms
next."
--Elif Batuman, author of The Possessed
Praise for "Cubed"
..". Excellent ... fresh and intellectually omnivorous ... Saval is
a vigorous writer, and a thoughtful one. What puts him above the
rank of most nonfiction authors, even some of the better ones, is
that he doesn t merely present information. He turns each new fact
over in his mind, right in front of you, holding it to the
light."
Dwight Garner, "T""he New York Times
"
""Cubed" is...a pleasure to read: beautifully written and clearly
organized. Since many Americans now, women as well as men, spend
more than half their waking hours at work, it's also an important
exploration."
Richard Sennett, "T""he New York Times Book Review
"
"Lush, funny, and unexpectedly fascinating ... [G]enius
..."Cubed"stands as one of those books readers can open to any page
and find the kind of insight they ll want to yank strangers out of
their bus or subway seats and repeat ...[A] beautifully written,
original, and essential masterpiece."
Jerry Stahl, "Bookforum
"
"There are a lot of books about work... but "Cubed" offers
something different: an entertaining look at the history of the
modern worker that the modern worker can actually learn from."
" "Rosecrans Baldwin, NPR
"Impressive... Beautifully written... delightfully readable..."
" "Martin Filler, "The New York Review of Books"
"Thorough and diligent...Saval works hard, and effectively, to
demonstrate how the evolution of workspaces paralleled social
shifts in the workforce that we re still living out....Savalis a
tireless researcher, and he turns phrases with a flair that would
get an Organization Man fired."
" "Jennifer Howard, "The Washington Post Book World
"
..". Cleverly pieced together...subtle and sophisticated."
Jill Lepore, " The New Yorker
"
"Nikil Saval's new book, "Cubed: A Secret History of the
Workplace," is a fascinating guide to the intellectual history of
the American office. Part cultural history, part architectural
analysis and part management theory with some labor economics,
gender studies and pop culture thrown in for good measure the book
is a smart look at the evolution of the place where we spend so
much of our lives."
" The Washington Post"
"In his first book, Saval sets out to chronicle the evolution of
the American office from airless prison to what it is today,
reflecting upon the transformation of the office worker from
emasculated novelty to unremarkable figure of ubiquity. To
accomplish this, he synthesizes an impressive number of books,
films, articles, and first-person accounts relating to the daunting
number of historical forces and ideologies that have shaped
white-collar work: architecture, philosophy, labor disputes, class
conflict, the women s movement, and technological advances, just to
name a few. Saval considers each of them, forming a cogent and
compelling narrative that could very easily have been scattered or
deathly dull. To keep things lively, Saval deploys deft analytical
skills and a tone that s frequently bemused, making difficult and
important concepts palatable to the casual reader."
"The Boston Globe"
"Over the past week, as I've been carrying around a copy of Nikil
Saval's "Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace," I've gotten
some quizzical looks. 'It's a history of the office, ' I'd explain,
whereupon a good number of people would respond, 'Well, that sounds
boring.' It isn't. In fact, "Cubed" is anything but... Saval's book
glides smoothly between his two primary subjects: the physical
structure of offices and the social institutions of white-collar
work over the past 150 years or so. "Cubed"encompasses everything
from the rise of the skyscraper to the entrance of women in the
workplace to the mid-20th-century angst over grey-flannel-suit
conformity to the dorm-like 'fun' workplaces of Silicon Valley. His
stance is skeptical, a welcome approach given that most writings on
the contemporary workplace are rife with dubious claims to
revolutionary innovation office design or management gimmicks that
bestselling authors indiscriminately pounce on like magpies seizing
glittering bits of trash."
Salon.com
"Five days a week I commute to a skyscraper in the main business
district of a large city and sit at a desk within whispering
distance of another desk. Whatever the word 'work' used to conjure,
my version is now quite standard. About 40 million Americans make a
living in some sort of cubicle. Are we happy about that? The
likelihood that we are not is central to Nikil Saval's impressive
debut, "Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace.""
"T""he New Republic"
..". Formidable ... Beautifully rendered ... Sections of the book
shine especially when it discusses gender in the workplace ... The
elegance of his prose and the intensity of his moral commitment
linger."
"The Nation
"
.".". Cubed "is so stimulating, so filled with terrific material
and shrewd observations, that it s a must-read for anyone pondering
how America arrived at its current state of white-collar
under-employment and economic insecurity."
The Daily Beast
..".[A] sharp and absorbing history of the office."
"The Economist"
"Saval's book... stands out as one of the best pop histories to
come out in years, and on a topic that most of us (statistically
speaking) can relate to."
"Fast Company"
"[An] absorbing history of office life...It sits cheerily between
the academic and the journalistic register...Saval's style is
nicely spiked with colloquialism... [His] debunking temper serves
him well."
"The Guardian
"
..". An entertaining read ... Saval's readings of pop culture
representations of the office and its workers add a lively and
ironic perspective."
"Publishers Weekly
"
"Ferociously lucid and witty."
"Kirkus Reviews
"
"A sprightly historical tour of the vexed, overplanned world of the
modern workplace."
In These Times
Why did no one write this necessary book before now? Never mind: it
wouldn t have been as good. "Cubed" has that combination of
inevitability and surprise that marks the best writing and
thinking.
Benjamin Kunkel, author of "Indecision"
Required reading for anyone who works in an office, and for those
fortunate enough to have escaped.
Ed Park, author of "Personal Days"
""
"Nikil Saval is a superstar! He does for offices what Foucault did
for prisons and hospitals, transforming a seemingly static, purely
functional, self-evident institution into a rich human story, full
of good and bad intentions, chance, and historical forces. Reading
"Cubed" is like watching an amazing magic trick where the very
boringness of the office turns out to be what is the most
interesting. I found myself wishing he would do waiting rooms
next."
Elif Batuman, author of "The Possessed""
Praise for "Cubed"
"Over the past week, as I've been carrying around a copy of Nikil
Saval's "Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace," I've gotten
some quizzical looks. 'It's a history of the office, ' I'd explain,
whereupon a good number of people would respond, 'Well, that sounds
boring.'
It isn't. In fact, "Cubed" is anything but... Saval's book glides
smoothly between his two primary subjects: the physical structure
of offices and the social institutions of white-collar work over
the past 150 years or so. "Cubed" encompasses everything from the
rise of the skyscraper to the entrance of women in the workplace to
the mid-20th-century angst over grey-flannel-suit conformity to the
dorm-like 'fun' workplaces of Silicon Valley. His stance is
skeptical, a welcome approach given that most writings on the
contemporary workplace are rife with dubious claims to
revolutionary innovation - office design or management gimmicks
that bestselling authors indiscriminately pounce on like magpies
seizing glittering bits of trash."
-Salon.com "Five days a week I commute to a skyscraper in the main
business district of a large city and sit at a desk within
whispering distance of another desk. Whatever the word 'work' used
to conjure, my version is now quite standard. About 40 million
AMericans make a living in some sort of cubicle.
Are we happy about that? The likelihood that we are not is central
to Nikil Saval's impressive debut, "Cubed: A Secret History of the
Workplace.""
-"The New Republic" "Nikil Saval's new book, "Cubed: A Secret
History of the Workplace ("Doubleday, April 22), is a fascinating
guide to the intellectual history of the American office. Part
cultural history, part architectural analysis and part management
theory -- with some labor economics, gender studies and pop culture
thrown in for good measure -- the book is a smart look at the
evolution of the place where we spend so much of our lives."
-"The Washington Po
Praise for "Cubed"
"Lush, funny, and unexpectedly fascinating ... [G]enius ... "Cubed"
stands as one of those books readers can open to any page and find
the kind of insight they'll want to yank strangers out of their bus
or subway seats and repeat ... [A] beautifully written, original,
and essential masterpiece."
--Jerry Stahl, "Bookforum
"
.".. Formidable ... Beautifully rendered ... Sections of the book
shine--especially when it discusses gender in the workplace ... The
elegance of his prose and the intensity of his moral commitment
linger."
--"The Nation
"
.".. An entertaining read ... Saval's readings of pop culture
representations of the office and its workers add a lively and
ironic perspective."
--"Publishers Weekly
"
"Ferociously lucid and witty."
--"Kirkus Reviews
"
"A sprightly historical tour of the vexed, overplanned world of the
modern workplace."
--In These Times
"Why did no one write this necessary book before now? Never mind:
it wouldn't have been as good. "Cubed" has that combination of
inevitability and surprise that marks the best writing--and
thinking."
--Benjamin Kunkel, author of "Indecision"
"Required reading for anyone who works in an office, and for those
fortunate enough to have escaped."
--Ed Park, author of "Personal Days"
" "
"Nikil Saval is a superstar! He does for offices what Foucault did
for prisons and hospitals, transforming a seemingly static, purely
functional, self-evident institution into a rich human story, full
of good and bad intentions, chance, and historical forces. Reading
"Cubed" is like watching an amazing magic trick where the very
boringness of the office turns out to be what is the most
interesting. I found myself wishing he would do waiting rooms
next."
--Elif Batuman, author of "The Possessed"
Praise for "Cubed"
."..An entertaining read... Saval's readings of pop culture
representations of the office and its workers add a lively and
ironic perspective."
--Publishers Weekly
"Ferociously lucid and witty."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Why did no one write this necessary book before now? Never mind:
it wouldn't have been as good. "Cubed" has that combination of
inevitability and surprise that marks the best writing--and
thinking."
--Benjamin Kunkel, author of "Indecision"
"Required reading for anyone who works in an office, and for those
fortunate enough to have escaped."
--Ed Park, author of "Personal Days"
" "
"Nikil Saval is a superstar! He does for offices what Foucault did
for prisons and hospitals, transforming a seemingly static, purely
functional, self-evident institution into a rich human story, full
of good and bad intentions, chance, and historical forces. Reading
"Cubed" is like watching an amazing magic trick where the very
boringness of the office turns out to be what is the most
interesting. I found myself wishing he would do waiting rooms
next."
--Elif Batuman, author of "The Possessed"
Advance praise for "Cubed"
"Why did no one write this necessary book before now? Never mind:
it wouldn't have been as good. "Cubed" has that combination of
inevitability and surprise that marks the best writing--and
thinking."
--Benjamin Kunkel, author of "Indecision"
"Required reading for anyone who works in an office, and for those
fortunate enough to have escaped."
--Ed Park, author of "Personal Days"
" "
"Nikil Saval is a superstar! He does for offices what Foucault did
for prisons and hospitals, transforming a seemingly static, purely
functional, self-evident institution into a rich human story, full
of good and bad intentions, chance, and historical forces. Reading
"Cubed" is like watching an amazing magic trick where the very
boringness of the office turns out to be what is the most
interesting. I found myself wishing he would do waiting rooms
next."
--Elif Batuman, author of "The Possessed"
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