Profiles in Folly
History's Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong
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Narrated by:
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Scott Peterson
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By:
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Alan Axelrod
About this listen
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 decision-making: 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, include: 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.
©2008 Alan Axelrod (P)2010 Gildan Media CorpListeners also enjoyed...
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The War of 1812 fascinating listening
- By Ira S. Saposnik on 05-28-17
By: Donald R Hickey
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FDR Goes to War
- How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America
- By: Burton W. Folsom, Anita Folson
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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FDR Goes to War expands on the premise that FDR's legacy has damaged America and helped lay the groundwork for the current economic crisis.
The Folsoms continue to expose the idyllic legend of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a myth of epic proportions. Many government programs that are widely used today have their seeds in the New Deal.
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Very good
- By Nick L on 11-03-12
By: Burton W. Folsom, and others
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1917
- Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In this incisive, fast-paced history, New York Times best-selling author Arthur Herman brilliantly reveals how Lenin and Wilson rewrote the rules of modern geopolitics. Through the end of World War I, countries marched into war only to increase or protect their national interests. After World War I, countries began going to war over ideas. Together, Lenin and Wilson unleashed the disruptive ideologies that would sweep the world, from nationalism and globalism to Communism and terrorism, and that continue to shape our world today.
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Another book you wish was part of every university world history curriculum
- By Bruno Carleston on 11-26-18
By: Arthur Herman
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1941: Fighting the Shadow War
- A Divided America in a World at War
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War, historian Marc Wortman thrillingly explores the little-known history of America's clandestine involvement in World War II before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to that infamous day, America had long been involved in a shadow war. Winston Churchill, England's beleaguered new prime minister, pleaded with Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. FDR concocted ingenious ways to come to his aid without breaking the Neutrality Acts.
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Fascinating, well worth the time to read or listen.
- By tennreader on 06-07-16
By: Marc Wortman
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Operation Snow
- How a Soviet Mole in FDR’s White House Triggered Pearl Harbor
- By: John Koster
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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On December 7, 1941, the nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and prompted the United States’ entry into the bloodiest war in human history. Americans have long debated the cause of the bombing; many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup or a failure of US intelligence agencies or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery - until now.
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PUT IT IN THE FILE BLAMING FDR FOR PEARL HARBOR
- By Ron on 11-21-20
By: John Koster
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Fateful Lightning
- A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction
- By: Allen C. Guelzo
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 26 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In Fateful Lightning, two-time Lincoln Prize-winning historian Allen C. Guelzo offers a marvelous portrait of the Civil War and its era, covering not only the major figures and epic battles, but also politics, religion, gender, race, diplomacy, and technology. He examines the strategy, the tactics, and the logistics of the Civil War and brings the most recent historical thinking to bear on emancipation, the presidency and the war powers, the blockade and international law, and the role of intellectuals, North and South.
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The worst part of this book is it's title
- By Rodney on 11-19-13
By: Allen C. Guelzo
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The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom
- America and China, 1776 to the Present
- By: John Pomfret
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 30 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Our relationship with China remains one of the most complex and rapidly evolving and is perhaps one of the most important to our nation's future. Here, John Pomfret, the author of the best-selling Chinese Lessons, takes us deep into these two countries' shared history and illuminates in vibrant, stunning detail every major event, relationship, and ongoing development that has affected diplomacy between these two booming, influential nations.
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Indispensable for understanding the US China relationship
- By D. Keith on 03-12-17
By: John Pomfret
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The New York Times: Disunion
- Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation
- By: Ted Widmer - editor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck, Mark Boyett, Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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A major new collection of modern commentary - from scholars, historians, and Civil War buffs - on the significant events of the Civil War, culled from The New York Times' popular Disunion online journal.
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Excellent audiobook! Love this format!
- By BVerité on 03-17-15
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Supreme Commander
- MacArthur's Triumph in Japan
- By: Seymour Morris
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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He is the most-decorated general in American history - and the only five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur’s greatest victory was not in war but in peace. As the uniquely titled Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he was charged with transforming a defeated, militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy - "the greatest gamble ever attempted", he called it.
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Compelling book in an pleasant voice
- By Pierke Bosschieter on 04-24-14
By: Seymour Morris
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The Allies
- Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Unlikely Alliance That Won World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Winston Groom tells the complex story of how Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin - the three iconic and vastly different Allied leaders - aligned to win World War II and created a new world order.
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Great read
- By Kindle Customer on 05-26-19
By: Winston Groom
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The China Mirage
- The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia
- By: James Bradley
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In each of his books, James Bradley has exposed the hidden truths behind America's engagement in Asia. Now comes his most engrossing work yet. Beginning in the 1850s, Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans who made their fortunes in the China opium trade. As they - good Christians all - profitably addicted millions, American missionaries arrived, promising salvation for those who adopted Western ways.
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Gross Negligence!
- By Donald Hill on 05-31-18
By: James Bradley
What listeners say about Profiles in Folly
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Santiago M. Farias
- 09-10-15
very entertaining!
As fun to listen from start to finish.performance fantastic. I highly recommend suitable for middle schoolers on up.
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- Douglas
- 03-03-14
Entertaining if not Engrossing
This is the sort of book that you can read over the course of two days or a year. You can put it down and pick it up a few weeks later because its made up of different short histories. The author doesn't go very deep into any specific story, so if you're already well acquainted with some of the stories you won't get much out of them. It's likely that you will still enjoy it however. In book form I'm sure this would be a good "bathroom book" and I mean that in a nice way.
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- Diana
- 02-04-14
Disappointing
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
No, not really. Each chapter opening creates expectation which is never really fulfilled. The examples discussed could all be categorized as something other than "Folly".
What three words best describe Scott Peterson’s voice?
Average, sometimes breathless.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
No
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Overall
- Joseph
- 05-11-11
Worthless
This book is so bad that I think it should never have been offered for sale by audible if there is anyone in charge of creating its inventory. Unbelievably bad writing, the most simplistic of summaries and no analytical skills or insight apparent.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jerry
- 06-11-18
A skewed view on history
This book although diving into interesting times on history choose to ignore or disregard glaring facts to make its point. The author offers very little humility on behalf of acknowledging other view points and makes the book come off as my personal complaints about history instead of looking at the full story.
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- David
- 01-25-16
This guy looks to the left .
This guy views the whole world from a liberal leftist view point . Don't bother with this title unless you are a fan of talking points the left .
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Overall
- Gary
- 05-07-11
Disappointing..tainted by author's political views
I thought this would be an objective historical view of history's mistakes. The first half of the book is mostly that, which is why I gave it two stars. Unfortunately, in the second half, the author tempers his explanations of mistakes based on his rather liberal political viewpoint. He compares Vietnams 58,000 U.S. troop deaths, to the Iraq war's less than one twentieth fatal casualties. George Bush is the worse president ever, so says the author. Really? Worse than Jimmy Carter? LBJ? Again, if I knew half the book would be slanted with leftist hyperbole, I would have not wasted a credit.
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5 people found this helpful