This book is a ground-level view of a revolution in how Americans work and live. It is the product of more than a year on the road and face-to-face interviews with several hundred independent workers. Except where noted in the text or endnotes, all quotations in the pages that follow (including the epigraphs that open each of the first thirteen chapters) come from interviews I conducted, and recorded on audiotape, during my journey through Free Agent Nation. In nearly all cases, I use people"s real names. In the few instances where, at the subject"s request, I use a pseudonym or disguise the person"s identity, I note that in the text. Among the many things I learned in my travels was how time-starved most Americans feel. And among the many things I"ve learned from reading nonfiction books is how little authors do to accommodate this reality of their readers" lives. That"s why, at the end of every chapter of this book, I"ve included what I call "The Box." The Box contains the...