Synopses & Reviews
Using the same engrossing anecdotal format that has proved so popular in
Profiles in Audacity, Alan Axelrod now turns to the dark side of audacious decision-making: those choices that, in retrospect, were shockingly wrongheaded. Although Axelrod investigates some dumb decisions by stupid people and some evil decisions by evil people, the overwhelming majority of these decisions were made by good, smart people whose poor judgment produced disastrous, often irreversible results. The 35 compelling and often poignant stories, which range from ancient times to today, include: The Trojan Horse; the Childrens Crusade; the sailing of the
Titanic, and the false belief that it just couldnt sink; Edward Bernayss 1929 campaign to recruit women smokers; Neville Chamberlains appeasement of the Nazis; Ken Lays deception with Enron; and even the choice to create a “New Coke” and fix what wasnt broke. As with
Profiles in Audacity, the deftly drawn vignettes will pique interest, satisfy curiosity, give pleasure, and present valuable lessons. And in addition to offering the same insightful analysis of the decision-making process,
Folly also includes objective post-mortems that explain what went wrong and why. These are cautionary tales—albeit with exquisite twists ranging from acerbic to horrific.
Synopsis
Using the same engrossing anecdotal format that proved so popular in Profiles in Audacity, bestselling author Alan Axelrod turns to the dark side of audacious decision-making and explores history's most tragic errors. While Axelrod looks at the hopelessly dumb and the overtly evil, the main focus is on smart people who had the best of intentions--but whose plans went disastrously wrong. The 35 compelling, often poignant stories include: the sailing of the Titanic; Edward Bernays's 1929 campaign to recruit women smokers; Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of the Nazis; Ken Lay's deception with Enron; and even the choice to create a “New Coke.” These are cautionary tales--albeit with exquisite twists ranging from acerbic to horrific. New in paperback.
About the Author
Alan Axelrod is the author of more than 60 books on subjects covering history, business, and management, including the bestselling Profiles in Audacity, the CEO series, and the Real History series. He has appeared on MSNBC, the Discovery Channel, CNN, Fox, and numerous radio news and talk programs, including NPR. Axelrod and his work have been featured in BusinessWeek, Fortune, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, and many newspapers, including USA Today.