American Nerd: The Story of My People is a book by Benjamin Nugent. The book discusses the history and origin of the term "nerd

Nerd

Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...

", as well as what the term means in today's age. Some of the important topics discussed include the racial differences for the term "nerd", such as how race played into Urkel, a nerdy character played by Jaleel White

Jaleel White

Jaleel Ahmad White is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel from Family Matters and voicing the character of Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters for Sonic the Hedgehog media....

 on the TV series Family Matters.

Appearances

The book and the author were featured on Last Call with Carson Daly

Last Call with Carson Daly

Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....

 as well as The Sound of Young America

The Sound of Young America

The Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...

 on NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

.