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In 19 profiles, Geist proves in a humorous way that Americans have not lost their entrepreneurial spirit. His collection of offbeat endeavors ranges from the king of infomercials (Ron Popeil) to the man who conceived the idea for the Houston Astrodome (Judge Roy Hofheinz). Geist (Little League Confidential) is at his best in relating the more unusual antics by the likes of the men who make a living diving for used golf balls or how the idea for a fish channel on cable television was developed (``fish niche''). No matter what the subject, Geist's touch is light, and he has the ability to come up with unusual facts, such as that the manicure market is a $4.5 billion industry. In his chapter on the evolution of talk shows, he elicits the response from the creator of several talk programs (Burt Dubrow, who discovered Sally Jesse Raphael) that the greatest influence on his work was Howdy Doody. Geist clearly admires those who have the guts to follow their dreams. (Nov.)