The core message of the book is that the developmental trajectory of nonprofits has not been a straight line. Its path over the years might be compared to that of a pinball, moving straight and building up momentum but then ricocheting off some event or social trend and taking off in a new direction altogether. Equally important, however, the sector is also the product of a founding genome that came out of colonial, Puritan-inspired New England and spread as that culture and its values became one of the dominant forces in American society. Knowing this history is a prerequisite for understanding and appreciating the character of this deeply influential part of American social culture.