Four Percent: The Story of Uncommon Youth in a Century of American Life (1st Edition)

2012 WINNER of USA Book News' Best Non-Fiction eBook

''[Malone] wrote how the image of Eagle Scouts has risen over the decades...I could not agree more.''-- Robert J. Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America (Retired)

Four Percent is one of the most complete histories of the Boy Scouts of America ever written and the first to focus on the remarkable story of Eagle Scouts. Award-winning author Michael S. Malone, himself an Eagle, brings the eye of a veteran journalist to a story that for too long has been wrapped in myth and prejudice and uncovers one of the most important, but least celebrated, movements in modern American history.

Four Percent is more than just a history of the Eagle Scout rank, but also the story of many Eagles a President of the United States, dozens of astronauts (including Neil Armstrong), Medal of Honor recipients, Nobel prize winning scientists, authors, movie stars, titans of industry, Senators, Congressmen and Governors, civil rights leaders, and community activists who have transformed the face of America over the last century.

One of Malone's major contributions in this book is his discovery that the community service project requirement for the Eagle rank has resulted in the great youth service initiative in history: more than 100 million hours devoted to improving the nation s communities and neighborhoods.

Filled with vivid historic anecdotes, compelling profiles, and surprising facts, Malone has brought to Four Percent the eye of a world-class writer, the insider experience of being an Eagle Scout himself, and the objectivity of a career journalist, to produce the best book ever about America s Eagles and perhaps even about Boy Scouting itself.