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One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure
 
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One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure (Paperback)

by Kyle MacDonald (Author)
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Price: £10.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure + Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place + Yes Man
Price For All Three: £19.46

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  • This item: One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure by Kyle MacDonald

    In stock but may require up to 2 additional days to deliver.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place by Danny Wallace

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  • Yes Man by Danny Wallace

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ebury Press (28 Jun 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091914523
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091914523
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 112,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #88 in  Books > Travel & Holiday > Speciality Travel > Adventure

Product Description

Product Description

A red paperclip is currently sitting on my desk next to my computer. I want to trade this paperclip with you for something bigger or better, maybe a pen, a spoon, or perhaps a boot. If you promise to make the trade I will come and visit you, wherever you are, to trade. So, if you have something bigger or better than a red paperclip, email me. Hope to trade with you soon! Kyle PS: I'm going to make a continuous chain of 'up trades' for bigger or better things until I get a house. Kyle MacDonald wanted his own house. The problem was he didn't have a job and he didn't have any money. Thinking back to his childhood he remembered the game he loved to play 'Bigger and Better'. It was a way of trading your old stuff to get bigger and better new stuff. Legend had it, some people managed to trade an old biro for a brand new car! This got Kyle thinking. If that kind of entrepreneurial spirit could turn tiny objects into big ones, then why not try trading up to a house? And then he saw it. One red paperclip, sitting on his desk, holding the pages of his CV together, ready to go out into the world and help him find the job that would eventually get him a house. But that didn't sound nearly as much fun as trading. So he wrote an internet advert hoping to trade one red paperclip. Suddenly his inbox was full of responses. The trading had begun. Did he get the house? You'll have to read his story to find out. He certainly did a lot of trades and met a lot of interesting people, including Alice Cooper. One small paperclip was to be the beginning of a great big adventure.


About the Author

My name is Kyle MacDonald. I was born on October 3, 1979 in Montreal, Canada. Since the day I was born, I've done lots of things. I climbed trees, made friends and traveled. I like to do things. Doing things is awesome. More than one million people have visited my website oneredpaperclip.com. I do an average of ten radio interviews a week. I don't have a publicist. I've never submitted a press release or called a single radio station. It's all happened by word of mouth.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure
85% buy the item featured on this page:
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£10.99
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.6 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A better concept than an adventure story, 22 Sep 2008
By P. Hood (Hampshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The concept of one red paperclip trading up to a house seemed genius and entrepreneurial and as the book develops it is interesting to see how a simple concept can pay such dividends.

However as the other reviews have pointed out, the quality of the writing does not equal the concept and the author becomes quite irritating as his trades progress. MacDonald decides it fit to add his patronising business and life advice on the end of each trade which is not particularly welcome from a self-confessed slacker who at the age of 25 takes his parents with him to every trade and gets his hair cut by his mother!

Likewise as the trades move on, he becomes rather moralistic with his items treating them as finding puppies the right home which creates an over-emotional mood for a book which would have read better staying as a light-hearted adventure.

At times it can be engaging as you meet the people and see what traded into what, and it will do a job if you have time to kill on public transport, but it's a below average book overall and I would not feel inclined to read another by this author.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Plod, plod, plod...great idea though, 7 Sep 2007
When I first heard about the idea I thought it was fantastic, so I had no concerns about buying the book when I saw it. I now wish I hadn't bothered. The book is simply so ploddingly written that it took me three attempts to get about 2/3 of the way through and I haven't yet summoned up the enthusiasm to try again. What should be a brilliant story drags from the first few pages. The end may be better but I can't see me bothering to find out. If only he had found a decent ghostwriter we could have had a good story and a good book, but when you know the story and the ending you want some enjoyment and entertainment along the way and I found this sadly lacking.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great idea, great read, 5 Sep 2007
I am a big fan of bizarre adventure stories of the kind written by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace and after hearing about the One Red Paperclip quest in the news last year I thought I would go ahead and buy this book.
The idea of trading up a paperclip to a house is a brilliantly simple idea and Kyle MacDonald describes the initial background to this idea as well as all the trades he accepts (and some he doesn't) in the hope of eventually getting the house. He also describes the media attention that the quest starts to develop as well as the ever increasing number of visitors and supporters at his website.
I didn't know what to expect prior to reading the book having read no reviews at all of it beforehand but I have to say it really was as enjoyable and entertaining as I could have hoped for. It is a very easy to read book which covers the story to the perfect level of detail and with a great sense of humour that is maintained throughout.
Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Premise but Poorly Told
One Red Paperclip has a fantastic premise. It follows the journey of a Canadian, Kyle MacDonald, who barters his way from a single red paperclip to a house in the space of just... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Ronan Smith

2.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, but.....
There are 2 things that instantly stand out as being glaringly obvious the minute you start reading this book:

1) The idea is inspired. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Grobelaar Cheesewright

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun
Yes, it was quite badly written, but it kind of added to its attraction in a way and it was fun, which was what he wanted it to be. I notice he has had some criticism e.g. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Gabrielle Collison

1.0 out of 5 stars One big let down
This is one big let down. A great concept is spoilt by a poorly written book in which you have little interest in the main character after the first couple of chapters... Read more
Published 14 months ago by R. Lowther

1.0 out of 5 stars one of the worst books i have ever read
after reading several books by dave gorman and danny wallace i liked the idea of one red paperclip and so thinking it would be like those that i have read i bought it and took it... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ms. Me George

5.0 out of 5 stars One red paperclip
I absolutely loved reading this book and couldnt put it down. I was so intrigued to find out what this guy would swap for next. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Marie Judd

1.0 out of 5 stars Morally bankrupt quest, badly written
An incredibly badly written book documenting one lazy guy's attempt to get a house. Instead of getting a job, he just exploits other people's goodwill to get what he wants, and... Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2007 by Bob

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