2005 

November

Booklist magazine reviewer David Pitt writes about The Average American, "What a thoroughly delightful book... At the end of the book, O’Keefe reveals the identity of the Average American, but it is the search itself - and the author’s exploration of the whole concept of being average - that makes this curious book so illuminating and enjoyable."

October 31

In Newsweek magazine, Nicole Joseph writes of The Average American. “The journey toward run-of-the-mill has never been so remarkable.” 

In Oklahoma, KSBI-TV airs a news feature about The Average American, noting that readers who want to be “a little closer to average” can find out in the book if they actually are.

October 27

On Sirius Radio’s “John McMullen Show,” Kevin tells Mr. McMullen about Americans, “We’re more smart, happy, and certainly more fulfilled than we’re often portrayed.”  

October 26

The Average American is featured on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.”  CNN’s Heidi Collins: “Kevin O’Keefe has written a book about his year-and-a-half-long search to find the average American.  For Kevin, it was personal.”  Kevin: “I really had a need to go out there and find the most average American because to be honest I was scared of being ordinary myself and it was really to face the fear… I don’t want to know the myth that’s out there about the average American.  I want to know the real person.” 

October 25

Kevin discusses The Average American on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” with host Neal Conan.  Mr. Conan notes that Kevin’s search “included a lot of thought about whether average is a good thing.”  Kevin: “What we have in the average American is somebody who believes he or she is living the American Dream – a very positive value… A lot of things in the lives of average Americans are things we should aspire to.” 

In her front-page story in the most average American’s hometown newspaper, Heather Lake writes, “O’Keefe said he came away from the process with an unexpected positive view of what it means to be average and is, he said, working to become more average himself… He found many people embraced the idea of being average.”  Explains Kevin, “They don’t have to be chasing after glory.  They feel they already have glory in their lives.”  The most average American tells Ms. Lake of the book, “It was excellent.  It brought tears to my eyes.”  Notes Kevin, “It was really a very spiritual journey for me in the last few months.” 

October 24

On the day The Average American is published, Martha Stewart features the book on her nationally-syndicated television program “Martha.”  Kevin tells Ms. Stewart, “It was just extraordinary finding out that we have so many commonalities… I found out the everyday is pretty amazing.”  Responds Ms. Stewart, “Pretty amazing and interesting… You are going to start a big trend.  This is very great… I think that everyone is going to run out and get this book... remembering that average is good.”                                                 

Susan Campbell writes in The Hartford Courant about Kevin being “liberated by his new understanding of the nuances of being average.”  Kevin explains to Ms. Campbell, “Average to me is now amazing. I would never have uttered that word at the beginning. I go down the list, and so much of what is average is full of positive things. We see through the tragedies in this century so far that there are average people out there, and in many cases they’re more interesting than the newsmakers. People are really starting to understand that.”   

October 21

BookReporter.com president Carol Fitzgerald reports, “I spend a lot of time when I am writing thinking about our readers. I try to wrap myself around the kind of stories and features that you would enjoy. A book came across our desks recently that amused me called THE AVERAGE AMERICAN.  It looks at what's average through a number of scenarios like whether you prefer smooth or chunky peanut butter.” 

October 16

Paul Stern of NE magazine writes, “Kevin O’Keefe has written a book titled ‘The Average American’ in which he reports: the average American lives within 20 minutes of a Wal-Mart store; eats peanut butter at least once a week… and can name all Three Stooges.” 

October

Chuck Thompson’s Q&A with Kevin is published in the monthly Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine.  Kevin does not reveal the identity of the most average American, but notes, “Most Americans are happy most of the time – we consider ourselves optimists – so I wasn’t looking for a sourpuss here… I spent more than a year and a half getting to know someone I didn’t know, so when I knocked on the door I had a good idea of this person’s mind-set.”