Picked the Kindle version of this book up from the local library. I'd heard about it based on B&N's New Books Newsletter back in May & finally got around to it.

Hitt is a magazine writer (and it kinda shows) who believes that the amateur urge has been part of what helped build America. He opens with a discussion of Ben Franklin (the amateur) and John Adams (the pro) and their differing approaches towards diplomatic relations with the French. Sounds terribly boring, I know - but it was really quite entertaining! For example:
"Franklin thought Adams was an officious prick. Adams thought Franklin was a decadent blowhard."
Hitt then explores the current state of amateurism - ranging from the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker fiasco of 2009 (Pros identified, amateurs picked the evidence apart) to a young woman using recombinant DNA to create glow-in-the-dark yogurt for raves (no, really!).

Along the way, he ponders why amateurs do what they do: "Fraudulence always seems to lie at the heart of amateur pursuits. Maybe you don’t have the right credentials, or background, or something else—other people’s presumptions—keeps you from doing what you want, so you just pretend. It’s a kind of prison break. The culture around you won’t let you out of where you are or into where you want to go. So, you pretend to be someone else, and make your move."

I really enjoyed this pop-sociological look at the world of creativity and playfulness that informs the world of the amateur - the only thing I could have wished for was a Notes/Sources section - some of his material was sourced within the text, but not nearly enough, IMHO.

Recommended as at least a library read to anyone interested in episodic, magazine-article writing on this subject. I probably won't pick it up unless it shows up as a Kindle Daily Deal or I see it for cheap at a used book store.