Profiles in Folly: History's Worst Decisions and why They Went WrongUsing 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 Children s Crusade; the sailing of the "Titanic," and the false belief that it just couldn t sink; 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 and fix what wasn t 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. " |
From inside the book
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... Campaign to Recruit 88 Women Smokers ( 1929 ) Richard M. Nixon and Watergate ( 1973 ) 100 Metropolitan Edison and Three Mile Island ( 1979 ) 109 Ken Lay and Enron ( 2001 ) Dick Cheney and the Iraq War ( 2003 ) 118 125 PART THREE The ...
... Campaign to Recruit 88 Women Smokers ( 1929 ) Richard M. Nixon and Watergate ( 1973 ) 100 Metropolitan Edison and Three Mile Island ( 1979 ) 109 Ken Lay and Enron ( 2001 ) Dick Cheney and the Iraq War ( 2003 ) 118 125 PART THREE The ...
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Other editions - View all
Profiles in Folly: History's Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong Alan Axelrod Limited preview - 2012 |
Profiles in Folly: History's Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong Alan Axelrod No preview available - 2012 |
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aircraft Alamo Alfred Dreyfus alternating current American army attack August battle became believed Bernays British Buchanan Burnside Bush Calhoun called campaign Chamberlain Cheney chief cigarette civil Coca-Cola Coke colonies colonists commander Confederate Congress Crater created Cuba Cuban Custer decision declared defense Dred Scott Dreyfus Dutch Edison Edsel Edward Bernays engineers Enron failed federal fighting folly force Ford France French Gandhi George George Armstrong Custer German Haber Hurricane Katrina Indians Iraq James Buchanan Japan Japanese Katrina Kennedy Kieft killed launch leaders Little Bighorn Maginot Line Mahicans major Meade ment Mexican military minister NASA nation Navy Nicholas Nixon North obsolescence operators Pearl Harbor Petersburg planned obsolescence political Rasputin reactor reported Russia Santa Anna ship shuttle slavery soldiers South Spain territory Texas Texians tion Titanic took Treaty Trojan troops turned Union United vice president Vietnam Vietnamese wing warping World Yamamoto York