Bachelor Nation

Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure

By: Amy Kaufman

Narrated by: Amy Kaufman

*A New York Times Bestseller*

The first definitive, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes cultural history of the Bachelor franchise, America’s favorite guilty pleasure.

For sixteen years and thirty-six seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers’ lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show’s popularity and relevance have only grown—more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor.

Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise—ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show’s inner workings: what it’s like to be trapped in the mansion “bubble”; dark, juicy tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the Fantasy Suite.

Kaufman also explores what our fascination means, culturally: what the show says about the way we view so-called ideal suitors; our subconscious yearning for fairy-tale romance; and how this enduring television show has shaped society’s feelings about love, marriage, and feminism by appealing to a marriage plot that’s as old as the best of Jane Austen.

Not exactly what I hoped for

I was hoping for more bachelor “secrets” than the book had to offer. I finished the audiobook within 24 hours and the entire time while listening I was thinking “Ok, ok, get to the point and let’s move on to the secrets.” and all of a sudden realized I was already 6 hours deep in Chapter 10 of 13 and still nothing really happened. I’d say the bachelor franchise’s history was a much larger part of the book than revealing anything “inside the world of the bachelor nation”... Which is ok, and I definitely respect the Authors work because you can tell she lived and breathed bachelor nation while researching for this book and even before that, but I just hoped more of my answers about the behind-the-scenes would be answered. I also found it hard to follow at times, with multiple people contributing to the book while everything was read by the same person (the author). I absolutely LOVED the philosophical and psychological aspect the author explored with the support of various experts in the respective fields and really enjoyed delving into some theories or scientifically proven phenomenas that apply to some of the things regarding the show and it’s premise and it’s contestants.

Fun

Fun to listen to if you are a fan of The Bachelor and Bachelorette. I really enjoyed it.

interesting perspective...terrible voice

you can strongly tell Amy's bias based on her valley girl voice making fun of male producers and contestants. the voice was really annoying and made me stop listening for a while half way through.

A Must Read for Any Bach Fan

What did you like best about this story?

I most liked the parts that drew on interviews with bachelor cast and crew members.

Any additional comments?

Amy Kaufman's approach to the phenomenon that is The Bachelor is insightful and witty. Kaufman writes about the franchise with the same critical perspective associated with her recaps. In many ways, Kaufman articulates so perfectly what I have struggled to put into words; it is possible to be an intelligent, critical, and feminist woman and enjoy the bachelor. Kaufman has very clearly done a lot of research and conducted a lot of interviews for this book.

Another thing Kaufman does well is put the entire phenomenon into a larger picture. She draws on anthropological and psychological perspectives to make observations on what the show and our need to watch it say about society.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this book was the interviews with many past cast members. Through her interviews the reader gains access to the inner circle of Bachelor Nation, we get to know the people who make the show and star on it a little more. This book really is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about the beloved show.

Good book not a great narrator

There was too much vocal fry from the narrator. The content was good, but it was hard to listen to.