"Originally published in hardcover in a slightly different form as Bunch of amateurs : a search for the American character ... by Crown Publishers ... in 2012"--Page iv.

Includes index.

Jack Hitt visits a number of different garages to look at America's current batch of amateurs and their pursuits. He not only tells the stories of people in the grip of a passion but argues that America's history is bound up in a cycle of amateur surges. Beginning with Ben Franklin's kite and leading all the way to the current TV hit American Idol, Hitt maintains that the nation's love of self-invented obsessives has always driven the country to rediscover the true heart of the American Dream. Amateur pursuits are typically lamented as a thing of the past until the next Sergey Brin steps out of his dorm room with the rare but crucial success story. Hitt believes that America is now on the brink of a new surge of creativity.--From publisher description.

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