Flint, Michigan

Flint, Michigan is the hometown of Ben Hamper and Michael Moore. As Hamper describes it: "Flint, Michigan. The Vehicle City. Greaseball Mecca. The birthplace of thud-rockers Grand Funk Railroad, game show geek Bob Eubanks and a hobby shop called General Motors" (Chapter 2, page 15).

Flint is located in Genesee County, Michigan, next to the Flint River. The region is believed to have belonged to the Ojibwa tribe. In 1819, a fur trader set up the first post in the region and often acted as a liaison between the Ojibwas and the United States government.

Flint is probably best known for General Motors, which was established in 1908. According to Hamper, General Motors created a culture all its own. The neighborhood where Hamper grew up, located on the outskirts of Flint, was basically a GM town. The majority of the people were blue collar "shoprats" with a long lineage tied...