A Curious Discovery: An Entrepreneur’s Story

In 1984, Hendricks had $75,000 of debt on his wife’s American Express card and took all but $511 out of his family’s bank account to fund an audacious idea for a cable channel that features science and education programming. A blend of memoir, business guide, media history, and adventure, Hendrick’s story is proof that entrepreneurship is a socially approved form of gambling. Discovery Communications is now a near-ubiquitous media shark, with shows such as Mythbusters, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Planet Earth, and Trading Spaces. Hendricks built an empire out of his college fundraising experience, charm, and enviable prescience, in spite of his lack of real media experience. He boasts that he saw it all coming: DVR, Internet television, and e-books. Hendricks’s confidence and delusional optimism is absolutely contagious. It would be great if, as he claims, Discovery’s educational program is the key to solving a host of problems, from terrorism in the U.S. to poverty in Africa. Hendricks has proved his willingness to go “all in,” and maybe we all need a little bit of his kind of crazy to make our dreams reality. 8p b&w photo insert. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (July)