From the bestselling author of Guns, Germs and Steel, an exploration of the influence of leaders in politics, business, sport and religion
We often read history as the biographies of ‘great men’ who shaped the world. But are leaders, whichever field they are in, really that influential? Should CEOs be given large bonuses when a company performs well? Why, when a political leader is assassinated, is their successor as likely to improve as damage a country? When do we know if firing a coach has changed the fortunes of the team?
World-renowned historian and bestselling author Jared Diamond argues that leaders are neither heroic exceptions nor products of circumstance. Looking at four difference spheres: history, business, sport and religion, Diamond asks under which conditions is a leader most likely to make a difference and why.
Drawing on the life and career of iconic leaders – from Botswana president Seretse Khama to legendary UCLA football coach John Wooden – Diamond shows us how leadership effectiveness is determined by a range of complex interrelated factors, from resources to geography, culture to technology.
Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings is a thought-provoking assessment of when leaders can bring about effective change, when they don’t, and perhaps whether we need them at all.
About the Author
Jared Diamond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the seminal million-copy-bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was named one of Time magazine's best non-fiction books of all time, Collapse, a No. 1 international bestseller, and The World Until Yesterday, among other books. A professor of geography at UCLA and noted polymath, Diamond's work has been influential in the fields of anthropology, biology, ornithology, ecology and history, among others.
Industry Reviews
An undisputed global star of comparative history
Andrew Marr, The Times
One of the few people who have changed the way we see human nature and our history
Independent
Wears the mantle of a modern-day prophet
Guardian
One of the most interesting and arresting writers of our age
Mail on Sunday
The most considered, courageous and sensitive teller of the human story writing today
Independent on Sunday
A master of at least nine academic disciplines, from anthropology to ornithology, and the subject of his books is never less than everything
Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times
Jared Diamond's erudite, engaging and thought-provoking book takes us a huge step forward toward understanding how circumstances and individual talents, determination and strategy make leaders that have the potential to change our world (hopefully for the better)
Daron Acemoglu, Nobel Laureate and co-author of Why Nations Fail
We live in turbulent times, and our societies look to exceptional individuals to navigate us out of crisis. But do leaders matter? And, if yes, what determines a leader’s success? A must-read from the grand master of analytic history
Peter Turchin, author of End Times
