To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision

Retired U.S. Navy admiral Stavridis (coauthor, 2034) unpacks nine instances of critical decision-making in this insightful mix of naval history and leadership guide. Capt. John Paul Jones let his emotions “provide a powerful spur to action” when he refused to surrender to the British warship Serapis in 1779, while Lieut. Stephen Decatur combined “audacity” with “rock-solid planning” when he rescued a captured American vessel from Tripoli harbor in 1804. Elsewhere, Stavridis shows that “tolerance for risk” was crucial to U.S. Navy commander David Farragut’s attacks against Confederate strongholds during the Civil War, and documents USS West Virginia crew member Doris “Dorie” Miller’s heroic actions during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Stavridis also spotlights Adm. Michelle Howard, who commanded the rescue of cargo ship captain Richard Phillips after he was taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009, and Capt. Brett Crozier, who “did the right thing” when he sent a controversial “red-flare email” pleading for help dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak aboard his ship in March 2020. Stavridis’s brisk tour of U.S. naval history is action-packed and colorful, and the leadership lessons, though somewhat repetitive, contain nuggets of counterintuitive wisdom. Readers will come away both entertained and informed. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (May)