Something for Nothing

Jackson Lears has won accolades for his skill in identifying the rich and unexpected layers of meaning beneath the familiar and mundane in our lives. Now, he challenges the conventional wisdom that the Protestant ethic of perseverance, industry, and disciplined achievement is what made America great. Turning to the deep, seldom acknowledged reverence for luck that runs through our entire history from colonial times to the early twenty-first century, Lears traces how luck, chance, and gambling have shaped and, at times, defined our national character.Jackson Lears's previous books include No Place of Grace and Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising in America. Lears is a Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and the editor of the distinguished journal Raritan. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines.