The Best and the Brightest

The Best and the Brightest PDF Author: David Halberstam
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 1588360989
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 927

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Book Description
David Halberstam’s masterpiece, the defining history of the making of the Vietnam tragedy, with a new Foreword by Senator John McCain. "A rich, entertaining, and profound reading experience.”—The New York Times Using portraits of America’ s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’ s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic. Praise for The Best and the Brightest “The most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. . . . It is also the Iliad of the American empire and the Odyssey of this nation’s search for its idealistic soul. The Best and the Brightest is almost like watching an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.”—The Boston Globe “Deeply moving . . . We cannot help but feel the compelling power of this narrative. . . . Dramatic and tragic, a chain of events overwhelming in their force, a distant war embodying illusions and myths, terror and violence, confusions and courage, blindness, pride, and arrogance.”—Los Angeles Times “A fascinating tale of folly and self-deception . . . [An] absorbing, detailed, and devastatingly caustic tale of Washington in the days of the Caesars.”—The Washington Post Book World “Seductively readable . . . It is a staggeringly ambitious undertaking that is fully matched by Halberstam’s performance. . . . This is in all ways an admirable and necessary book.”—Newsweek “A story every American should read.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Best and the Brightest

The Best and the Brightest PDF Author: David Halberstam
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 1588360989
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 927

Get Book Here

Book Description
David Halberstam’s masterpiece, the defining history of the making of the Vietnam tragedy, with a new Foreword by Senator John McCain. "A rich, entertaining, and profound reading experience.”—The New York Times Using portraits of America’ s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’ s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic. Praise for The Best and the Brightest “The most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. . . . It is also the Iliad of the American empire and the Odyssey of this nation’s search for its idealistic soul. The Best and the Brightest is almost like watching an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.”—The Boston Globe “Deeply moving . . . We cannot help but feel the compelling power of this narrative. . . . Dramatic and tragic, a chain of events overwhelming in their force, a distant war embodying illusions and myths, terror and violence, confusions and courage, blindness, pride, and arrogance.”—Los Angeles Times “A fascinating tale of folly and self-deception . . . [An] absorbing, detailed, and devastatingly caustic tale of Washington in the days of the Caesars.”—The Washington Post Book World “Seductively readable . . . It is a staggeringly ambitious undertaking that is fully matched by Halberstam’s performance. . . . This is in all ways an admirable and necessary book.”—Newsweek “A story every American should read.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Finding the Best and the Brightest

Finding the Best and the Brightest PDF Author: Peg Thoms
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313027412
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Finding the Best and Brightest proposes an approach to choosing leaders based on a set of criteria designed to align individual qualities with organizational or institutional goals. Peg Thoms challenges the popular trend in theory and practice toward transformational or visionary leadership, arguing instead that leadership must be developed in context; many organizations, for example, don't need visionaries as much as they need operational leaders, who get things done by focusing on present-day tasks, such as designing superior products and delivering exceptional customer service. This book provides guidance for how to recruit, select, and retain the right people for leadership positions at any level of the organization. Drawing from research conducted in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Thoms features powerful examples of effective and ineffective leadership in a variety of situations, and sheds light on the complex relationships between leaders and those who follow them. We all choose our leaders. We hire them to run our companies. We vote them into office. We appoint them to committees. We decide to work for, serve, and follow them. In fact, all leadership is relative; by taking direction or orders, going to bat or war, marching behind, listening, and agreeing, we are choosing to allow another individual to lead us. Whether the stage is a corporation, a country, a club, a school, or any other organization, effective leaders matter. Yet despite such high-profile examples of leadership disasters—from the California recall of Gray Davis to the fall of such business titans as Ken Lay and Sam Waksal—we continue to choose, hire, and elect poor leaders. Finding the Best and Brightest explores this phenomenon in business, politics, and other sectors of society, and proposes an antidote—an approach to choosing leaders based on a set of criteria designed to align individual qualities with organizational or institutional goals. Peg Thoms challenges the popular trend toward transformational leadership, which focuses on identifying universal characteristics, arguing instead that leadership must be developed in context. Many organizations, for example, need operational leaders who can focus on present-day tasks, such as designing superior products and delivering exceptional customer service, and not inspirational or visionary leaders, whose otherwise admirable qualities might be ill-suited to the challenges at hand. Outlining six typical leadership search scenarios—from school principal to hospital CEO—Thoms shows readers how to identify the traits and behaviors that are most essential for the position and how to structure interviews and other search techniques to elicit the most informative responses and home in on the best candidates. She also reminds us that many organizations fail not because they can't find good leaders but because they can't keep them, and offers strategies to promote leadership development. Whether you are an executive giving the nod to a new department head, a concerned citizen casting your vote for a municipal councilman, a club member choosing a new president, or an aspiring leader deciding which offer will provide the greatest growth opportunities, Finding the Best and the Brightest offers fresh insights on the dynamic relationship between leaders and those who follow them.

Brightest and Best

Brightest and Best PDF Author: Sam Portaro
Publisher: Cowley Publications
ISBN: 1461660513
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
In these meditations on the lesser feasts and fasts of the church calendar Sam Portaro asks the question, “What do these saints and commemorations have to say to Christians today?” His answers are often surprising and always thought-provoking, with fresh insights into the lives and teachings of those who have gone before us in the Christian faith. The cycle of the year begins in Advent with St. Andrew and ends in late November with Kamehaneha and Emma of Hawaii. Each reflection looks at the scripture readings for the day and focuses on a distinctive attribute of the saint or feast in the light of contemporary questions of faith, mission, and community. Saints of the distant past such as Columba and Agnes, Cyprian and Augustine, Thomas Becket and Catherine of Siena are included, as well as those closer to our own day—Charles Wesley and Julia Emery, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Evelyn Underhill and Jonathan Daniels. Following the calendar provided in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, meditations on the holy days of the church seasons are also included, such as All Saints and the Epiphany.” Brightest and Best is designed for a variety of Christian education purposes, including adult forums, confirmation classes, seasonal presentations, clergy groups, and groups of students and young adults. It is equally useful for individuals seeking varied and interesting devotional reading. Although based on the church year, each chapter is discrete and readers can focus on any event or person and begin at any season. Since these pieces began as homilies in a college setting, they are useful as a preaching aid and could be the basis of a homily at a midweek service.

Passion & Purpose

Passion & Purpose PDF Author: John Coleman
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1422162664
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Provides an overview of the big issues in the business world today, with firsthand accounts from young leaders tasked with tackling these issues head on.

Give Us Your Best and Brightest

Give Us Your Best and Brightest PDF Author: Devesh Kapur
Publisher: CGD Books
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
"Examines the political and economic implications of migrant flows from a development perspective"--Provided by publisher.

Work + Life

Work + Life PDF Author: Cali Williams Yost
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440628289
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
The empowering new 3-step guide to combining work and life strategically, creatively, and successfully. The message is simple: Work doesn't have to be all or nothing. There are countless combinations of balancing work and life between these extremes. People can establish boundaries and change the way work fits into their lives, in a way that's good for employees and employers. Work+Life provides the tools to adjust the "work" portion of life in order to have more time and/or energy for personal responsibilities and interests. Even a small change can make a big difference. Industry expert Cali Yost has been working with people on all sides of the issue: employees and managers at companies such as General Electric/NBC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, and Ernst & Young, and EAPs nationwide that help companies help their employees. They all say the same thing--Work+Life is the missing piece of the puzzle, providing readers with invaluable work life balance tips and putting them on the cutting edge of the workplace revolution.

The Brightest Sun

The Brightest Sun PDF Author: Adrienne Benson
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488028095
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
“A beautiful novel” following three women of different backgrounds as they search for home and family in sub-Saharan Africa (Tim Johnston, New York Times–bestselling author of The Current). Leona, an isolated American anthropologist, gives birth to a baby girl in a remote Maasai village and must decide how she can be a mother, in spite of her own grim childhood. Jane, a lonely expat wife, follows her husband to the tropics and learns just how fragile life is. Simi, a barren Maasai woman, must confront her infertility in a society in which females are valued by their reproductive roles. In this affecting debut novel, these three very different women grapple with motherhood, recalibrate their identities, and confront unforeseen tragedies and triumphs. In evocative prose, Adrienne Benson brings to life the striking Kenyan terrain as these women’s lives intertwine in unexpected ways—and as they face their own challenges and heartbreaks, they find strength traversing the arid landscapes of tenuous human connection. “The African backdrop gives an interesting spin to Benson’s exploration of themes related to motherhood, outsiderness, and emotional connection.” —Booklist

The Making of a Quagmire

The Making of a Quagmire PDF Author: David Halberstam
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742560086
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Pulitzer-prize winning author David Halberstam's eyewitness account provides a riveting narrative of how the United States created a major foreign policy disaster for itself in a faraway land it knew little about. In the introduction to this edition, historian Daniel J. Singal supplies crucial background information that was unavailable in the mid-1960s when the book was written. With its numerous firsthand recollections of life in the war zone, The Making of a Quagmire penetrates to the essence of what went wrong in Vietnam. Although its focus is the Kennedy era, its analysis of the blunders and misconceptions of American military and political leaders holds true for the entire war.

The Smartest Kids in the World

The Smartest Kids in the World PDF Author: Amanda Ripley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 145165443X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Following three teenagers who chose to spend one school year living in Finland, South Korea, and Poland, a literary journalist recounts how attitudes, parenting, and rigorous teaching have revolutionized these countries' education results.

Human Accomplishment

Human Accomplishment PDF Author: Charles Murray
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061745677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 790

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Book Description
A sweeping cultural survey reminiscent of Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence. "At irregular times and in scattered settings, human beings have achieved great things. Human Accomplishment is about those great things, falling in the domains known as the arts and sciences, and the people who did them.' So begins Charles Murray's unique account of human excellence, from the age of Homer to our own time. Employing techniques that historians have developed over the last century but that have rarely been applied to books written for the general public, Murray compiles inventories of the people who have been essential to the stories of literature, music, art, philosophy, and the sciences—a total of 4,002 men and women from around the world, ranked according to their eminence. The heart of Human Accomplishment is a series of enthralling descriptive chapters: on the giants in the arts and what sets them apart from the merely great; on the differences between great achievement in the arts and in the sciences; on the meta-inventions, 14 crucial leaps in human capacity to create great art and science; and on the patterns and trajectories of accomplishment across time and geography. Straightforwardly and undogmatically, Charles Murray takes on some controversial questions. Why has accomplishment been so concentrated in Europe? Among men? Since 1400? He presents evidence that the rate of great accomplishment has been declining in the last century, asks what it means, and offers a rich framework for thinking about the conditions under which the human spirit has expressed itself most gloriously. Eye-opening and humbling, Human Accomplishment is a fascinating work that describes what humans at their best can achieve, provides tools for exploring its wellsprings, and celebrates the continuing common quest of humans everywhere to discover truths, create beauty, and apprehend the good.