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Profiles in Folly: History's Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong
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 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, 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.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published May 6, 2008
12 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Alan Axelrod
175 books53 followersAlan Axelrod, Ph.D., is a prolific author of history, business and management books. As of October 2018, he had written more than 150 books, as noted in an online introduction by Lynn Ware Peek before an interview with Axelrod on the National Public Radio station KPCW. Axelrod resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 21, 2014
History is full of moments that could be considered follies. However, depending on the viewpoint, some follies might be far greater than others. This book gathers some of the major failures in history and gives a brief description of the event and why it is considered a folly.
I really liked the overall structure and feel of the book. I like the grouping of follies into general types of errors like the decision to gamble or the decision to destroy. It gives the book an organized feel that allows the reader to know what types of actions to look for in the stories they are reading.
There were two things that I didn’t particularly like about the book. The first thing was some of the stories that were added to the book as follies. Someone looking back into the past has a clearer vision of how things played out. However I feel like some of the stories added to this book were not as obvious of follies as the author would have you believe. Some of these events were closer to being successes rather than follies. Had the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet been in port rather than at maneuvers, Pearl Harbor might have been the most successful attack of WWII. The Americans would have been crippled in the Pacific for years. Had the Schlieffen Plan been able to take a few more miles and taken Paris the Germans would have had their “little war”. Had January 27, 1987 been a little warmer in Florida the O-Ring on Challenger would not have frozen and NASA would not have had the public outcry for change. I think some of these events were not true follies but rather outcomes that look bad from where we sit today.
The second issue I had with the book was the author’s clear anti-Bush agenda. I don’t mind a good presidential roast now and again. However you could tell Axelrod inserted a couple of zingers just for the fun of it. There is a Bush related folly in three of the six sections of the book. Considering this book was written during the Bush presidency, I would consider that a high number. Usually history needs a little time before true follies can be analyzed properly. I would allow his presidency to end before we start really looking at his place in history.
I think this book is a good compilation of stories that can be considered follies. I felt the author’s bias was a little too strong in some parts of the book. However, it was a nice read and got me thinking of some of interesting follies in history that I never knew.
I really liked the overall structure and feel of the book. I like the grouping of follies into general types of errors like the decision to gamble or the decision to destroy. It gives the book an organized feel that allows the reader to know what types of actions to look for in the stories they are reading.
There were two things that I didn’t particularly like about the book. The first thing was some of the stories that were added to the book as follies. Someone looking back into the past has a clearer vision of how things played out. However I feel like some of the stories added to this book were not as obvious of follies as the author would have you believe. Some of these events were closer to being successes rather than follies. Had the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet been in port rather than at maneuvers, Pearl Harbor might have been the most successful attack of WWII. The Americans would have been crippled in the Pacific for years. Had the Schlieffen Plan been able to take a few more miles and taken Paris the Germans would have had their “little war”. Had January 27, 1987 been a little warmer in Florida the O-Ring on Challenger would not have frozen and NASA would not have had the public outcry for change. I think some of these events were not true follies but rather outcomes that look bad from where we sit today.
The second issue I had with the book was the author’s clear anti-Bush agenda. I don’t mind a good presidential roast now and again. However you could tell Axelrod inserted a couple of zingers just for the fun of it. There is a Bush related folly in three of the six sections of the book. Considering this book was written during the Bush presidency, I would consider that a high number. Usually history needs a little time before true follies can be analyzed properly. I would allow his presidency to end before we start really looking at his place in history.
I think this book is a good compilation of stories that can be considered follies. I felt the author’s bias was a little too strong in some parts of the book. However, it was a nice read and got me thinking of some of interesting follies in history that I never knew.
January 3, 2019
Some interesting facts
December 21, 2020
I love to read about history and this book sucked. Essentially, this author picked events in time and sorted them in an order to build to conclusion of why the George W. Bush presidency was a failure as exemplified by specific events. It reads like it was written by a 2000’s democrat (AKA socialist by another name) as a political hit piece on Bush. So, my issue is that the book was inappropriately titled as much as anything. But like all modern democrats, this author can’t help but deceive and twist the truth to meet their socialist agenda. His analysis of hurricane Catrina, for example, is so completely one-sided it is laughable – don’t believe me? Find the analysis of Catrina from Esther Scott published in a book called “Managing Crisis” to get the real and full story. I’m giving this book and this author one star because, like all socialists, revisionist history isn’t what I read history for; I don’t read histories and analysis of histories to hear your political agenda. Objectivity is the mark of a good history and this book has near zero. What a waste of my time. Title your book correctly and I wouldn’t have wasted a minute on it. I’d suggest “How a socialist views the GB presidency and why history supports my one sided point of view.”
August 3, 2009
I enjoyed this book because it told me a little bit about alot of historical events. My school days have been over for many years, and this book brushed up my understanding of many happenings (domestic and foreign) in the world.
When reading this book, however, one must keep in mind that while dates, places, and people are facts, history is a story of facts told from a point of view. This author has a dislike of all American men named Bush, for instance. Yet the opinions of Alan Axelrod were mostly contained in a small summary concluding each chapter, so they do not cloud the overall story too much. At least that is THIS person's opinion.
When reading this book, however, one must keep in mind that while dates, places, and people are facts, history is a story of facts told from a point of view. This author has a dislike of all American men named Bush, for instance. Yet the opinions of Alan Axelrod were mostly contained in a small summary concluding each chapter, so they do not cloud the overall story too much. At least that is THIS person's opinion.
February 25, 2019
Most of this book is fascinating... and I would have given it more stars except a few times the author interjects some ridiculous personal opinions (at least ridiculous in my view). He states for instance that Buchanan was routinely viewed as the worst president in the history of the country until George W. Bush. I don't care how much someone dislikes Presidents Bush, or Obama for that matter, neither one of them comes close to Buchanan. He also essentially blames the damage done by Katrina as a result of not signing Kyoto, and blames Bush almost exclusively for the disaster... as I remember it Mayor Nagy and the governor had a role in bumbling the operations as well. He should have stayed with his strength... history... and kept out the modern events.
September 23, 2020
A really nice compellation of examples of bad decisions throughout history--some of them well-known and some not well-known at all. Because of the breadth covered, don't expect an extremely in-depth investigation into each. However, each chapter certainly provides enough details to explain the settings, motivations, options, and ultimate choice to do the wrong thing, or in some cases do nothing. I also love that some of the examples, like Enron and the Iraq War, are very recent and still topical today. I have absolutely no doubt that where this book to be published today, it would have a massive chapter dedicated to the many poor decisions being made today by one particular fool uniquely unsuited to a position of real power and responsibility.
September 28, 2017
this was an interesting book - split up into chapters by each bad decision. Some of the chapters were wildly fascinating some were so boring that I almost couldn't finish.
the premise of the book is outstanding but it could have been better executed and the "follys" could have benefitted from some more stringent inclusion criteria.
But it was a quick read and still worth a read for people in love with history.
the premise of the book is outstanding but it could have been better executed and the "follys" could have benefitted from some more stringent inclusion criteria.
But it was a quick read and still worth a read for people in love with history.
October 2, 2020
Purchase Profiles in Folly here for just $8!
A wonderful compilation of many stories about history's follies, this is a great book to dip in-and-out of when you feel like learning more about massive mistakes. A surprisingly quick and fun read.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
A wonderful compilation of many stories about history's follies, this is a great book to dip in-and-out of when you feel like learning more about massive mistakes. A surprisingly quick and fun read.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
August 15, 2024
Just the right amount of information where you learn some things but it does not become tedious. I would have made it five stars except his politics showed in his distain for President GW Bush. I did not vote for Bush but I do not like it when the author can not remain neutral and just give us the information.
August 3, 2019
No está mal pero es muy desigual.
Tiene historias importantes de la historia mundial con mucha repercusión futura y luego tiene historias de la vida interna americana que son menos interesantes para los no americanos.
Tiene historias importantes de la historia mundial con mucha repercusión futura y luego tiene historias de la vida interna americana que son menos interesantes para los no americanos.
October 28, 2021
An interesting breakdown of poor decisions. Some stories are more captivating than others, and some are very hindsight based, but the book is otherwise enjoyable.
February 18, 2022
Good book for history buffs. Some chapters are better than others. I particularly liked the parts about "New Coke", Hurricane Katrina, The Alamo, and Watergate.
May 31, 2023
The writer is left leaning and goes out of his way to attack both Bush presidencies. Yet he conveniently ignores the disaster that was Clinton's decision to send the US military into Mogadishu. The book is fine but more of a collection of essays than a deep dive into each scenario.
June 18, 2021
A brief overview of some of history's great follies, Profiles in Folly is split up into six parts with each part detailing events that displayed similar types of folly. Most of the events take place in modern history with only three taking place pre-1800s and with 44 events listed total, only 1/4 of them take place outside of the United States. The decision makers in theses events range from field generals to presidents and kings to business leaders. Each event starts with a few pages detailing the timeline followed by a brief explanation of why that particular event makes the list.
While I enjoyed the historical overviews of various events throughout the modern era, they are very brief and anyone of these events could and often has multiple entire books written on them. I am also skeptical whenever I see an author claiming that they have aggregated the most/worst/best/etc. events in all of history into a single book. Really? In all the thousands of years of human history, you were able to find the worst decisions, and, on top of that, there are only 44 of them, most of them being in the last 200 years. Additionally, three of them happen to be made by the same political leadership team, which, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, seems to indicate some cherry picking on the part of the author. I can't help but be skeptical.
Other books I have read that have a similar format, various historical events that fit within a type and so can be discussed together, have included in the introductions that these are only a few of the events that could be included. This book has none of that.
This book is an easy read giving brief overviews of a variety of horrible decisions throughout history. I see it as a good jumping off point; if there is a particular event you find more interesting, go find one of the books that covers that topic more thoroughly. Keep in mind, though, that history is long and there are multiple other worst decisions spanning an even larger time period than this book covers.
While I enjoyed the historical overviews of various events throughout the modern era, they are very brief and anyone of these events could and often has multiple entire books written on them. I am also skeptical whenever I see an author claiming that they have aggregated the most/worst/best/etc. events in all of history into a single book. Really? In all the thousands of years of human history, you were able to find the worst decisions, and, on top of that, there are only 44 of them, most of them being in the last 200 years. Additionally, three of them happen to be made by the same political leadership team, which, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, seems to indicate some cherry picking on the part of the author. I can't help but be skeptical.
Other books I have read that have a similar format, various historical events that fit within a type and so can be discussed together, have included in the introductions that these are only a few of the events that could be included. This book has none of that.
This book is an easy read giving brief overviews of a variety of horrible decisions throughout history. I see it as a good jumping off point; if there is a particular event you find more interesting, go find one of the books that covers that topic more thoroughly. Keep in mind, though, that history is long and there are multiple other worst decisions spanning an even larger time period than this book covers.
August 24, 2023
Đây là dạng sách mà mình thích: những sự kiện, câu chuyện lịch sử được kể lại một cách súc tích và có phần dí dỏm, có đánh giá ngắn gọn của tác giả về mỗi câu chuyện, mỗi sự kiện. Cuốn sách cho ta thấy rằng bất cứ ai cũng có thể mắc sai lầm, dù cho đó là một vĩ nhân rất được ngưỡng mộ, có những sai lầm được sửa chữa kịp thời để không dẫn đến sai lầm nghiêm trọng hơn (sự kiện vịnh con heo) nhưng phần lớn những sai lầm dẫn đến kết cục bi thảm, không thể cứu vãn; có những việc có động cơ tốt đẹp nhưng cách thức thực hiện lại sai lầm (thoả hiệp bán đứng Tiệp Khắc cho Hittle của Thủ tướng Chamerlain). Và đôi khi khoảng cách giữa thành công tột đỉnh và thất bại khủng khiếp lại rất mong manh (câu chuyện về tàu Titanic). Có những sai lầm không thấy ngay mà phải một thời gian sau, khi nhìn lại, chúng ta mới thấy đó là quyết định sai lầm (trận Trân Châu Cảng, phong trào ngọn đuốc tự do)
Các câu chuyện được kể trong cuốn sách rất đa dạng: từ quân sự, chính trị cho đến sáng chế, kinh doanh; cung cấp nhiều thông tin thú vị.
Đánh giá: 4 sao - (trừ) 1 sao vì biên tập chán quá
Các câu chuyện được kể trong cuốn sách rất đa dạng: từ quân sự, chính trị cho đến sáng chế, kinh doanh; cung cấp nhiều thông tin thú vị.
Đánh giá: 4 sao - (trừ) 1 sao vì biên tập chán quá
April 22, 2015
What a history book. Lets just get to it - what is the worst and dumbest decisions ever made, US, World,not the universe - yet. Axelrod not only writes a book that is easy to read, it is a book that is hard to put down. My God, what other dumb decision is there? From Custer to Katrina, from Rasputin to George W Bush we are treated to thoughtful essays that provide us with a great opportunity to see when leadership failed us.
Enron to Edsel the book jumps from politics to economy. The book looks at some of the worst presidents to some of the best, but it spares no rod when it sees the Gulf of Tonkin and the Dred Scott decisions.
This book is real and thought provoking history. From "I am not a crook" to the racist refusal to use the African American Troops at Petersburg we are reminded that we do not live with the best decisions, we survive the worst.
Enron to Edsel the book jumps from politics to economy. The book looks at some of the worst presidents to some of the best, but it spares no rod when it sees the Gulf of Tonkin and the Dred Scott decisions.
This book is real and thought provoking history. From "I am not a crook" to the racist refusal to use the African American Troops at Petersburg we are reminded that we do not live with the best decisions, we survive the worst.
April 3, 2009
Some people make repeated bad decisions (George Armstrong Custer) and some make one bad decision and can't get past it (Thomas Edison). Often, they just can't admit they are wrong. Interesting history. If you are a fan of our 43rd president, this book will anger you. Mr. Axelrod repeatedly refers to G. W. Bush as an example of the worst of the worst.
January 1, 2012
This is a series of short descriptions of historical events in which one of the major players really screws up. A partial list includes: Custer's Last Stand, the Bay of Pigs, Hurricane Katrina, George III Losing America, Thomas Edison and Alternating Current, Nixon and Watergate, Vietnam, etc. It gives interesting takes on what the people did wrong, and what we should learn from it.
February 10, 2012
An excuse to put together a collection of essays on bad decisions in history. There are some good potted accounts of complex events, though I can't verify their accuracy. There are times when he clearly doesn't know the difference between England and Britain, using them interchangeably, which casts doubts on his accuracy elsewhere.
July 22, 2012
"Profiles In Folly" is a series of short stories about great blunders in history. The book covers everything from the Trojan Horse to Hurricane Katrina from Gen. Custer at the Big Horn to the Maginot line from the space shuttle disasters to the Ford Edsall.
March 26, 2016
This is a pretty interesting book that describes failures in leadership and good judgement from the Trojan Horse and Custer's last stand through the fiascos of our time: Watergate, the Tonkin Gulf incident, and the indifference of our federal government to the suffering souls hit by Katrina.
February 5, 2011
Good. Profiles in Audacity was better.
March 11, 2009
Poorly written, full of editing errors and factual errors. Avoid.
August 13, 2010
I really liked the information in this book, I didn't really care for a lot of his conclusions.
Want to read
August 18, 2010Alan Axelrod is a very good author, he writes historical non-fiction. Overall I like his work, and I hope this book doesn't disappoint.
August 18, 2014
Folly seems such an inadequate word for many of the decisions in this book, leading as they did to the loss of so many lives. But, of course, sometimes folly is all it takes.
January 1, 2014
I'll be happy to pick up more by this author. His profiles were concise and fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews