Oops: 20 Life Lessons from the Fiascoes That Shaped America (精装)

1956-12  

2006-03-14 (2006年3月14日)  

Martin J. Smith  

286  

Although its composition seems occasionally arbitrary, this addition to the weird history subgenre is as informative as it is entertaining. Smith and Kiger (Poplorica) take 20 of American history's biggest "flops, goofs, misjudgments, and fiascoes" (mainly from the 20th century) and attempt to extract a "meaningful lesson" from each, the latter more difficult than simply telling an embarrassing story. For instance, "Beware Solutions That Create New Problems" profiles Thomas Midgeley, the innovator who added poisonous lead to gasoline and invented ozone-killing CFCs, which made him responsible for more atmospheric damage than any other man in history. Most enjoyable are the chapters on jaw-droppingly ridiculous decisions, such as Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees in 1967 or the 1974 Cleveland Indians' 10-cent beer night that turned into one of pro sports' ugliest riots. Some subjects seem more like misguided incidents than fiascoes (e.g., inventors' unending quest for a flying car, the Y2K scare), but there are plenty of corkers, like the hubristic flameout that was the football-wrestling hybrid XFL. A "bonus" chapter crams in other goodies for a nice finish, from the well known (e.g., the CIA's Castro assassination plots) to the obscure (e.g., equine sushi ice cream). (Mar.)

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionLesson 1 READ THE FINE PRINT The Eroto-Utopians of Upstate New YorkLesson 2 ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE How Theomas Edison Invented Trash TalkLesson 3 BEWARE SOLUTIONS THAT CREATE NEW PROBLEMS The Global Underarm Deodorant DisatsterLesson 4 BAD RESULTS TRUMP GOOD INTENIONS Kudzu:A Most Tangled TaleLesson 5 IGNORE THE PAST AT OUT PERLI The Preposterous Collapse of "Galloping Gertie"Lesson 6 PERSISTENEC CAN OUTWEIGH THLENT The Screeching DivaLesson 7 Choose THE RIGHT PARTNER The Kaiser-Hughes Flying BoatLesson 8 PANDERING WILL GET YOU NOWHERE The 1955 Dodge la FemmeLesson 9 BEWARE OF UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGLES The Lingering Reek of"Smell-O-Vision"Lesson 10 CONVENIENEC ISN'T lways enougyh The Paper DressLesson 11 DUBLOUS NOTIONS SEDUCE EVEN THE BRIGHTEST MINDS The U.S. Psychic Friends ProgramLesson 12 UNDERSTAND THE MARDET The 1967Jimi Hendrix-Mondees Concert TourLesson 13 DESPERATION IS THE CRADLE OF BAD IDEAS The Cleveland Indian's Ten-Cent Beer NightLesson 14 SWEAT THE DETAILSLesson 15 CULTURAL NORMS RESIST RADICAL CHANGELesson 16 THINK LONG TERMLesson 17 KNOW"HELPFUL"FROM"ANNOYING"Lesson 18 BEWARE THE PROFITING PROPHETLesson 19 DON'T MESS WITH SUCCESSLesson 20 OCCASIONALLY LOOK UP FROM YOUR WORKBENCHIndex

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