The Art of Fairness
The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean
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- €3.99
Publisher Description
'David Bodanis is an enthralling storyteller. Prepare to be taken on a surprising, wide-ranging and ultimately inspiring journey to explore what makes us human' Tim Harford
Can you succeed without being a terrible person? We often think not: recognising that, as the old saying has it, 'nice guys finish last'. But does that mean you have to go to the other extreme, and be a bully or Machiavellian to get anything done?
In THE ART OF FAIRNESS, David Bodanis uses thrilling historical case studies to show there's a better path, leading neatly in between. He reveals how it was fairness, applied with skill, that led the Empire State Building to be constructed in barely a year - and how the same techniques brought a quiet English debutante to become an acclaimed jungle guerrilla fighter. In ten vivid profiles - featuring pilots, presidents, and even the producer of Game of Thrones - we see that the path to greatness doesn't require crushing displays of power or tyrannical ego. Simple fair decency can prevail.
With surprising insights from across history - including the downfall of the very man who popularised the phrase 'nice guys finish last' - THE ART OF FAIRNESS charts a refreshing and sustainable new approach to cultivating integrity and influence.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Bodanis (The Secret House) delivers a character-driven study of how civility and fairness can be contributing factors to success. Drawing on case studies of men and women who displayed grace in difficult work circumstances and prospered as a result, Bodanis advises readers to "listen, without ego" and "defend, by not over-defending." Profile subjects include film director Danny Boyle, who curated the opening ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympics. According to Bodanis, Boyle succeeded in part because he made everyone involved—volunteers, TV producers, corporate liaisons—stakeholders in the goal of keeping the ceremony's surprises under wraps. The program ended up being the best-rated in British television history. Other examples include the teamwork that helped construct the Empire State Building in less than a year, New York Mets manager Gil Hodges's victory over Chicago Cubs manager Leo Durocher (who coined the phrase "nice guys finish last" in the 1969 NL pennant race), and FDR's efforts to unite America during the Great Depression. Though Bodanis's anecdotal evidence doesn't amount to a grand proof that fairness always wins, he enlivens the proceedings with vivid character sketches, colorful historical tidbits, and graceful prose. Readers will be entertained and inspired.
