Victory and Celebration traces how athletic success was transformed into broader social and political capital in ancient Greece in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE--how being a good boxer or wrestler, or having a fast son or superior horses was made into something of significance beyond the stadium or hippodrome. Athletic success did not speak for itself. Its meanings had to be produced and defended, and this was the work of the victory memorials--the poems, statues, and other de...

The Rhetoric of Medicine explores problems that confront medical professionals today by first examining similar problems that confronted physicians in ancient Greece. This framework provides illuminating entry points into challenges faced by the practice of medicine, enabling readers to understand more clearly their shape and operation in the modern context-as well as their possible solutions. Topics covered include: larger cultural ideas about the body; tension between profession...

The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West examines the relationship between epinician and the heroizing narratives about athletes, or "hero-athlete narratives," that circulated orally in Sicily and Italy in the late archaic and early classical period. Drawing on the colorful stories told about athletes in later sources, the fragments of Simonides, and the surviving odes of Pindar and Bacchylides, it argues that epinician was formed in opposition to orally transmitted narratives and...

This is the leadership book you have to read: a barn-storming new take on what makes a versatile, integrated, and effective leaderUsing stories and examples from the lives of leaders, from the sports stadium to the White House to the office of the CEO, Nicholson shows vividly how the capacity of leaders to see what others do not see frames their actions and allows them to transform, build, destroy, or stabilize. Leaders fail through lack of insight...

Many of the world's most successful businesses are family owned. With this comes the threat of family bust-ups, sibling rivalry and petty jealousies.Family Wars takes you behind the scenes on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of some of the biggest family-run companies in the world, showing how family in-fighting has threatened to bring about their downfall. Whether it's the Redstone's courtroom battles or the feud over Henry Ford's reluctance to let g...

Nigel Nicholson explains the emergence of leaders in different epochs and cultures. His approach is rooted in evolutionary science and the latest thinking about how cultures and leadership co-evolve over time and place. The essence of leadership is the successful crafting of an identity that merges the leader and the surrounding culture or zeitgeist. The I of leadership is this merger of individual and culture. Sixteen chapters present different sets of stories and challenges and illustrat...

Expose the hidden mechanisms that turn curious children into compliant workers. John Taylor Gatto's explosive follow-up to Dumbing Us Down reveals the specific techniques schools use to destroy imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as rote memorization rather than creative discovery.The Weaponization of Education:This isn't conspiracy theory - it's documented history. Gatto traces how compul...

The image of a job captures our imagination from an early age, usually prompted by the question 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'. Work -- paid, unpaid, voluntary, or obligatory -- is woven into the fabric of all human societies. For many of us, it becomes part of our identity. For others it is a tedious necessity. Living is problematic without paid work, and for many it is catastrophic. Steve Fineman tells the fascinating story of work - how we strive for security, reward, and of...

The world is an increasingly interconnected place; in work as in life, we need a broad range of experiences to widen our knowledge, perform our best and feel most fulfilled. But in education and business there is the growing feeling that we are being led down a rabbit hole of narrow expertise, forced to specialise or shuttled into niche positions that don't make use of our wider talents.In The Mosaic Principle, Nick Lovegrove encourages us to take the broad view, showing h...

Speak up, you can become a Beyonder! In many organisations and countries people are desperately searching for leaders that can provide solutions to transcend the many financial, political and environmental problems that the world is facing. Sadly, such leaders are few and far between. But fortunately there is hope: Beyondership. Leaders who aspire to Beyondership possess and radiate a deep-seated vision, anchored in a clear set of values. What others see as obstacles, they welcome as chall...

Life -- personally and professionally -- is lived to the fullest as a mosaic, encompassing a rich and complex set of diverse experiences that provide purpose, meaning, happiness, and success.Yet, the pressures of modern society push us toward narrower focus and deeper specialization in our lives and careers. Our pursuit of specific expertise risks us becoming isolated from those different from us; our lack of shared experience fosters suspicion and conflict. Today we have businessp...

'I need a wife'It’s a common joke among women juggling work and family. But it’s not actually a joke. Having a spouse who takes care of things at home is a Godsend on the domestic front. It’s a potent economic asset on the work front. And it’s an advantage enjoyed – even in our modern society – by vastly more men than women.Working women are in an advanced, sustained, and chronically under-reported state of wife drought, and there is no sign of rain.