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Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters: Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever
"Don't miss this fantastic book"
-
Haywood Smith
From Benjamin Franklin there comes the old adage : For want of the nail, the shoe was lost : For want the shoe, the rider was lost : For want of the rider, the battle was For want of the battle an empire was lost : The empire was lost all for the want of a nail.
How often does that really happen? That a single tiny mistake causes an entire civilization to collapse? The reader will be amazed how often it happens over and over again.
Some examples as
- A single document poorly designed by one single clerk in one single county changed the outcome of a presidential
election and led directly to a major war.
- A soldier accidentally kicks a helmet off of the top of a wall and causes an empire to collapse.
- A small mechanical device several inches long fails to function ; This changes the outcome of WWII and leads to the
death of millions of people.
- A man who was president of a nation was also commanding a large army in the field facing a dangerous enemy. But
when the expected attack from the enemy came, he was in his tent, high on opium, cavorting with a beautiful
young slave woman. The battle led to the founding of a new nation and a famous song was later written about the
beautiful young woman.
These and many Hypnotic and addictive, this book is a review of the seemingly tiny mistakes that led to the collapse of grand civilizations. Human weakness at it very worst at critical moments. The Butterfly Effect in human The many tiny mistakes that changed the world we live in today.
See the book trailer ( One of the best ever produced for a adult non-fiction book.
-
Haywood Smith
From Benjamin Franklin there comes the old adage : For want of the nail, the shoe was lost : For want the shoe, the rider was lost : For want of the rider, the battle was For want of the battle an empire was lost : The empire was lost all for the want of a nail.
How often does that really happen? That a single tiny mistake causes an entire civilization to collapse? The reader will be amazed how often it happens over and over again.
Some examples as
- A single document poorly designed by one single clerk in one single county changed the outcome of a presidential
election and led directly to a major war.
- A soldier accidentally kicks a helmet off of the top of a wall and causes an empire to collapse.
- A small mechanical device several inches long fails to function ; This changes the outcome of WWII and leads to the
death of millions of people.
- A man who was president of a nation was also commanding a large army in the field facing a dangerous enemy. But
when the expected attack from the enemy came, he was in his tent, high on opium, cavorting with a beautiful
young slave woman. The battle led to the founding of a new nation and a famous song was later written about the
beautiful young woman.
These and many Hypnotic and addictive, this book is a review of the seemingly tiny mistakes that led to the collapse of grand civilizations. Human weakness at it very worst at critical moments. The Butterfly Effect in human The many tiny mistakes that changed the world we live in today.
See the book trailer ( One of the best ever produced for a adult non-fiction book.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2018
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15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 2, 2023
I've often thought about writing a book that would highlight the what ifs and coulda beens in history.
My idea was to look at what happened in history and change something minor to show what might have happened had the a third party of abolitionists not ran a presidential candidate and Henry Clay won the presidency.
Having read this book, I won't be doing that.
I loved the idea and thought it would be fun.
Instead I found this book to be full of conjuncture and speculation that it ruined the fun. It vastly over simplified events.
My idea was to look at what happened in history and change something minor to show what might have happened had the a third party of abolitionists not ran a presidential candidate and Henry Clay won the presidency.
Having read this book, I won't be doing that.
I loved the idea and thought it would be fun.
Instead I found this book to be full of conjuncture and speculation that it ruined the fun. It vastly over simplified events.
November 7, 2020
Sometimes all it takes for a book to reel me in is a great concept. And Jared Knott's Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters definitely has that. This book has it all:
1. Something for everybody - politics, the military, science, medicine, and loads of history, including one story from 2500B.C.!
2. Tremendous research
3. Tons of near misses
4. Great introduction
5. Cool pictures (and not too many of them to take away from the stories)
(On a personal note, the 82nd Airborne is mentioned a couple of times. That was my brother's unit. In fact, he was in a plane on the ground during the Bay of Pigs incident. The battle ended before he could be sent.)
The book has 30 sections. But this is misleading because many of the sections have multiple examples of how a tiny blunder led to a big disaster. I'm going to just give you a couple of them to whet your appetite. These stories, along with so many others, just made my jaw drop. To whit:
1. We've all heard how the security guard, Frank Wills, came across evidence that exposed the burglaries at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972. And, of course, Nixon ultimately resigned because of the fallout. But do you know how Wills found out what had happened (you're not going to believe this!)? The burglars put tape in the door from the garage leading to a staircase so they wouldn't get locked out. But, guess what? They placed the tape across the lock horizontally instead of vertically. Wills could see the tape. Are you kidding me? And, on top of that, the local police were called but were not available. So plainclothes detectives, who were shabbily dressed, were sent, and the lookouts on the roof didn't think anything of it because they were not in uniform. Wow!
2. We all know that WW1 started because Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungry was assassinated. Did you know that the driver of the car that held the assassin took a wrong turn? That's what put the assassin in a position to shoot Ferdinand.
3. It is commonly held that WWII started in 1937 in a confrontation between Japan and China. What you may not know is that one of the Japanese soldiers left the battlefield to go to the bathroom and got lost in the woods on the way back. The Japanese assumed that the Chinese had taken this soldier and demanded to be allowed to search for him. The Chinese said no. This was the start of the second Sino-Japanese War.
And, by the way, Mrs. O'Leary's cow did NOT start the Great Chicago Fire.
You will also be able to read about great sibling rivalries and their consequences on world history; and the time zone that prevented a military victory; and the assassination that took place because a bodyguard and U.S General did not attend a theater production (guess who?); and a Civil War battle that could have changed the outcome if orders had not been dropped in a field; and...
I have to stop here, even though I don't want to. Every section (and every sub-section) is just so darn interesting. You will be mesmerized by Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters or my name isn't The Book Sage!
1. Something for everybody - politics, the military, science, medicine, and loads of history, including one story from 2500B.C.!
2. Tremendous research
3. Tons of near misses
4. Great introduction
5. Cool pictures (and not too many of them to take away from the stories)
(On a personal note, the 82nd Airborne is mentioned a couple of times. That was my brother's unit. In fact, he was in a plane on the ground during the Bay of Pigs incident. The battle ended before he could be sent.)
The book has 30 sections. But this is misleading because many of the sections have multiple examples of how a tiny blunder led to a big disaster. I'm going to just give you a couple of them to whet your appetite. These stories, along with so many others, just made my jaw drop. To whit:
1. We've all heard how the security guard, Frank Wills, came across evidence that exposed the burglaries at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972. And, of course, Nixon ultimately resigned because of the fallout. But do you know how Wills found out what had happened (you're not going to believe this!)? The burglars put tape in the door from the garage leading to a staircase so they wouldn't get locked out. But, guess what? They placed the tape across the lock horizontally instead of vertically. Wills could see the tape. Are you kidding me? And, on top of that, the local police were called but were not available. So plainclothes detectives, who were shabbily dressed, were sent, and the lookouts on the roof didn't think anything of it because they were not in uniform. Wow!
2. We all know that WW1 started because Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungry was assassinated. Did you know that the driver of the car that held the assassin took a wrong turn? That's what put the assassin in a position to shoot Ferdinand.
3. It is commonly held that WWII started in 1937 in a confrontation between Japan and China. What you may not know is that one of the Japanese soldiers left the battlefield to go to the bathroom and got lost in the woods on the way back. The Japanese assumed that the Chinese had taken this soldier and demanded to be allowed to search for him. The Chinese said no. This was the start of the second Sino-Japanese War.
And, by the way, Mrs. O'Leary's cow did NOT start the Great Chicago Fire.
You will also be able to read about great sibling rivalries and their consequences on world history; and the time zone that prevented a military victory; and the assassination that took place because a bodyguard and U.S General did not attend a theater production (guess who?); and a Civil War battle that could have changed the outcome if orders had not been dropped in a field; and...
I have to stop here, even though I don't want to. Every section (and every sub-section) is just so darn interesting. You will be mesmerized by Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters or my name isn't The Book Sage!
January 6, 2020
I just got the book and am only a few chapters in, but I can tell already this is a fantastic book. The author, Jared Knott, provides detailed accounts of the tiny mistakes that have greatly affected our world today. You can tell Knott has done extensive research for this book and provided us with valuable stories that have been brushed aside. Also, his love for history is reflected in this detailed book, and his engaging writing style is sure to make you appreciate these fascinating historical stories. I highly recommend you to read this book!
February 27, 2024
This is a book with a lot of good information and interesting historical twists, but it would benefit from a good editor. The author rambles a good bit and introduces much tangentially related material and explanations that detract from the story at hand. And if he mentions Murphy's Law one more time I'm going to toss the book across the room! This was a good idea for an entertaining book, and it appears a lot of research was done, but it does not appear to be professionally done.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews