Book cover of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made

Book description

The Wise Men introduces the original brightest and best, leaders whose outsized personalities and actions brought order to postwar chaos: Averell Harriman, freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt's special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Wise Men as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love this book because it’s an inspiring story of selfless patriotism, of six men of great wealth and accomplishment who set aside their private careers and personal ambitions to serve their country at a time of awesome need.

Averell Harriman, Robert Lovett, Dean Acheson, John McCloy, George Kennan, Charles Bohlen–as America emerged victorious in World War II but uncertain about the future, these friends and colleagues crafted the policies that created what later became known as the “American Century.”

This book is a deeply researched, fast-paced story of unsung heroes that left me nostalgic about the nation’s glorious past…

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Book cover of The Smart Mission: NASA’s Lessons for Managing Knowledge, People, and Projects

The Smart Mission by Edward J. Hoffman,

The Smart Mission brings together NASA’s most important lessons on how people, knowledge, and systems shape complex projects.

Drawing on decades of experience at NASA—including my time as the agency’s first Chief Knowledge Officer—this book explains why mission success depends less on process and more on culture, learning, and collaboration.…

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