Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril

Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril

By Margaret Heffernan

Heffernan argues that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don't see--not because they're secret or invisible, but because we're willfully blind. "Willful Blindness" is a tour de force on human behavior that will open readers' eyes.

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Book Information

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publish Date: 07/03/2012
Pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780802777966
ISBN-10: 0802777961
Language: English

What We're Saying

September 15, 2011

The shortlist for the seventh Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Book of the Year has been released. It includes: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Public Affairs Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar by Barry Eichengreen, Oxford University Press Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier by Edward L. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

August 19, 2011

Understandably (looking at the award sponsors), the FT/Goldman Sachs Book Award always tends more toward macroeconomics, high finance and big business. But they always seem to pick well, and I always find books I feel the need to revisit when they announce their list. Just in case you missed the announcement of the the award's longlist as I did, it is: Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius by Sylvia Nasar, Simon & Schuster No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone by Tom Bower, Faber & Faber Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit V. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

May 21, 2015

We continue our Thinker in Residence with Margaret Heffernan with a series of questions about her new book, Beyond Measure. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

May 20, 2015

Margaret Heffernan

By Porchlight

We begin our Thinker in Residence with Margaret Heffernan with the TED Talk that began the trajectory to her new book, Beyond Measure. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

May 05, 2015

Beyond Measure

By Porchlight

Margaret Heffernan's popular TED talk on creating a better place to work is now a TED Original book! READ FULL DESCRIPTION

Full Description

Margaret Heffernan argues that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don't see--not because they're secret or invisible, but because we're willfully blind. A distinguished businesswoman and writer, she examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change?
Covering everything from our choice of mates to the SEC, Bernard Madoff's investors, the embers of BP's refinery, the military in Afghanistan, and the dog-eat-dog world of subprime mortgage lenders, this provocative book demonstrates how failing to see--or admit to ourselves or our colleagues--the issues and problems in plain sight can ruin private lives and bring down corporations. Heffernan explains how willful blindness develops before exploring ways that institutions and individuals can combat it. In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Margaret Heffernan's Willful Blindness is a tour de force on human behavior that will open your eyes.

About the Author

Margaret Heffernan has been the CEO of several businesses. Born in Texas and educated at Cambridge University, she worked for BBC Radio for five years where she wrote, directed, produced, and commissioned dozens of documentaries and dramas.

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