Hard Call, John McCain
Hard Call, John McCain
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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Hard Call
Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them

Author: John McCain, Mark Salter

Narrator: John McCain, Daniel Hugh Kelly

Abridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/14/2007


Synopsis

America's most inspiring politician pays tribute to men and woman who have exhibited composure, wisdom and intellect in the face of tough decisions. John McCain draws from experiences of both extraordinary people and people in extraordinary circumstances, culling lessons about the process and nature of judicious and effective decision-making.

Acclaimed authors John McCain and Mark Salter describe the anatomy of great decisions in history by telling the remarkable stories of men and women who have exemplified composure, wisdom, and intellect in the face of life's toughest decisions. They identify six qualities typically represented in the best decisions: Awareness. Timing. Foresight. Confidence. Humility. Inspiration. These qualities are personified by the exceptional individuals in this book, each of whom made a hard call, including:

Henry Ford's decision to sacrifice his company's competitive edge by reducing the work day and guaranteeing a minimum wage;
Branch Rickey's decision to offer Jackie Robinson a contract to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the face of public opposition;
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 's decision to return to wartorn Liberia after receiving an economics degree from Harvard;
General Fred Weyand's decision to redeploy fifteen of his battalions despite resistance from senior American military commanders in Vietnam.

Woven into these stories are John McCain's own views on the process and art of decision-making and examples of the hard calls we face in our lives. "When I assess a decision," McCain writes, "I want to know all I can about the character of the decision maker before I examine the properties of the decision, its outcome or how it was arrived at."

Hard Call is a testament to the people whose choices serve as a beacon for us all.

About John McCain

Senator John McCain (1936—2018) entered the Naval Academy in June of 1954. He served in the United States Navy until 1981. He was elected to the US House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982 and to the Senate in 1986. He was the Republican Party’s nominee for president in the 2008 election. He is the author of Faith of My Fathers, Worth Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, Character Is Destiny, Thirteen Soldiers, and The Restless Wave.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Don on July 15, 2014

luck is unreliable, Ft Riley Lewis Robinson, Life of Christ Giovanni Papini book, the guts not to fight back, nasa overrides Challenger, Orbiter project Navy politics, man belongs wherever he wants to go, awareness and foresight, curiosity and discernment to check vices, checks/balances as not to pr......more

Goodreads review by Sandra on July 07, 2010

This book is very pleasantly surprising, from the former Republican candidate for President. McCain, with collaborator Mark Salter, identifies the qualities he believes leaders need to make good decisions on important matters, then, after a brief definition (with specific examples) of the quality an......more

Goodreads review by Erin on November 16, 2010

I like John McCain anyway, but this was a really interesting book about decision-making. He looks at the traits of great decision-makers and also at the things which can hinder making good decisions. Each chapter focuses on the story of a person in history who made good or poor decisions and what we......more

Goodreads review by Clare on November 30, 2007

This book is full of good stories about people who have achieved great things but the narrative style of writing has no oomph, no drama. I found it hard to get through.......more

Goodreads review by Mike on February 16, 2009

I read the first half of this book on a 6 hour flight to California. I couldn't sleep, and had to get my mind off of the loud drone of the engines, which this book helped me do. It provides interesting miniature biographies, and some interesting facts but doesn't really dissect what makes good decis......more