NANCY KOEHN at Books Inc. Mountain View

NANCY KOEHN at Books Inc. Mountain View

Business historian Nancy Koehn discusses her engaging new book, Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times

From a brilliant historian at the Harvard Business School, here is a masterful, in-depth portrait of five extraordinary figures--Ernest Shackleton, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rachel Carson--that illuminates how great leaders are made in times of adversity and the diverse skills they summon in order to prevail.

Ten years in the writing, Forged in Crisis, by renowned Harvard Business School historian and Davos and Aspen Institute speaker Nancy Koehn, presents five remarkable life journeys--those of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton; President Abraham Lincoln; legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Nazi-resisting clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and environmental crusader Rachel Carson. What do such disparate figures have in common? Why do their stories speak to us so powerfully today?

Koehn begins each of the book's five sections by showing her protagonist on the precipice of a great crisis: Shackleton marooned on an Antarctic ice floe with no hope of rescue; Lincoln on the verge of the collapse of the Union; Douglass threatened with a return to enslavement; Bonhoeffer agonizing on what a man of faith should do when faced with absolute evil; Carson racing against the clock--and the cancer ravaging her--in a bid to save the planet. Koehn then reaches back to each person's early years to show the individual blooming into the force he or she would ultimately become. Through their confronting of obstacles, we begin to glean an essential truth: leaders are not born but made, and the power to lead resides in each of us.

In a time when the highest offices in the land are occupied by the inexperienced and untested, the great question pressing on all of us is: What set of skills is required to lead in crisis, and can history give us answers? Whether it's read as a repository of great insight or as exceptionally rendered human drama, the riveting Forged in Crisis stands out as a towering achievement.


“Enthralling…a fascinating look at a varied group of heroes…Koehn’s call for her audience to emulate them strikes a pleasingly hopeful note for an era of partisan discord and lack of faith in leaders.”--Publishers Weekly

“Koehn skillfully weaves together [her five leaders’] stories and the lessons, primary of which is ‘great leaders are made, not born.’… [The] stories are highly engaging (and well documented); in fact, many are transformed into nail-biting adventures….A book that quietly surpasses many so-called leadership tomes.”--Booklist [Starred Review]

“[An] engaging, unusually rewarding book…Throughout, Koehn underscores the great humanity and depth of understanding of these leaders…Wise, thoughtful, and valuable, this book will foster a new appreciation for effective leadership and prompt many readers to lament the lack of it in the world today.”--Kirkus (Starred Review]

 

Event date: 
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 - 7:00pm
Event address: 
Books Inc.
317 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA
Books: 
Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times By Nancy Koehn Cover Image
$35.00
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9781501174445
Published: Scribner - October 3rd, 2017