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Adrian Zackheim, Michael Burke, Lisa Gansky, Barbara Johnson, David Evenchik,

Shepard Fairey, Catherine E. Oliver. Courtney is listed twice because she was

indispensable. Special thanks to people who read the acknowledgments. You know who

you are. And to two linchpins: Admiral Barry Bronfin and Robert Leinwand.

Illustrations by Jessica Hagy and Hugh MacLeod. Google them, it's worth it.

And of course, Helene, Alex, and Mo. And my mom and dad, for pushing me to be an

artist long before I realized what that meant.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Here's a partial list, somewhat annotated, of some of the amazing books I had the

pleasure to read while working on this book. To each author, "Thanks, and your work

made a difference. I took a seed from your generous gift and grew it into something else,

something that I hope will spread."

On Gifts and Art

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

In this short book, Steven sells a very important and simple idea. We are victims of the

resistance, an almost irresistible force in our lizard brain that shouts down our genius and

pushes us to fit in instead. Once you recognize the resistance and know its name, this

knowledge will change you (for the better).

The Gift, by Lewis Hyde

Long, rich, and intricate, this book by poet Lewis Hyde takes us on a tour of gifts, art,

poetry, commerce, and the history of the world. His understanding of how seemingly

small decisions about things like usury changed our world forever is profound.

The Gift, by Marcel Mauss

Considered by many to be the breakthrough book on the economy of gifts. It's not a fun

read, but stuff like this rarely is.

Art Is Work, by Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser does the work. Loudly and with pride and generosity, he has long led the

way in thinking about the work and why it matters. This is mostly a portfolio, but the

writing here will make you think.

Man on Wire, by Philippe Petit

Petit is an artist, someone living an adventure through his actions. His life is a gift to us,

and this book, as much as the movie, will encourage and provoke you.

True and False, by David Mamet

Gripping, inspiring, and beyond-a-doubt true, this is not a book for actors, it is a book for

everyone. Short and powerful.

On Sociology and Economics

The Lonely Crowd, by David Riesman, with Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney

This is the best-selling sociology book ever, apparently. The key argument is that "fitting

in" to a large group is a relatively new phenomenon, and it has changed the way human

beings interact.

From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932, by David Hounshell

This is a powerful book, an extraordinary insight into the change from handmade to

factory, from skilled craftsmen to cogs in a system. This really happened, and it happened

to our great grandparents. The shifts were mammoth--in one two-year period,

productivity at a Ford plant went up by more than five times.

The Power Elite, by C. Wright Mills

The first book to dive deep into the privileged class of American corporations and politics

(largely the same group). Mills makes an overwhelming case that there was a caste

system running our country, our schools, and our corporations. The vestiges still remain,

but it's changing, in some places faster than others.

The American Myth of Success: From Horatio Alger to Norman Vincent Peale, by

Richard Weiss

The evolution of our culture as seen through self-improvement books. Weiss starts

around the Civil War and goes up to the 1950s. What we read reflected who we were and

where we were going.

The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, by Arlie Russell

Hochschild

Hochschild was given significant access to stewardesses working at Delta Airlines in the

1960s. She chronicles the deadening pain they felt as they were forced to bring

cheerfulness and emotion to work each day. I fundamentally disagree with her conclusion

(that doing emotional labor is painful, not a privilege), but her work