About the Book
Robert Klitgaard is a world-renowned advisor to governments and international organizations as they face upheavals and make transformative decisions. Here he turns his attention to our "big choices." Moving across history, literature, philosophy, psychology, and everyday life, he shows how heroes can help us make transformative decisions about careers, romance, family, emigration, joining or leaving a religion or a political movement, and more. We see how to experiment with different callings, how to find and use big insights, and how to share and serve with compassion. We all confront upheavals and big choices, especially in these times of pandemics, economic turmoil, and dehumanization. We seek ideas and inspiration, not formulas or condescension. Prevail is full of twists and surprises and fascinating characters. In a world of skim-milk self-help, this is a book to savor and come back to, again and again.
About the Author :
Robert Klitgaard is a University Professor at Claremont Graduate University. Among his eleven previous books is Tropical Gangsters, named one of the New York Times' Books of the Century.
Review :
"I applaud the brilliant work of Bob Klitgaard's Prevail. . . . Its messages are presented with a unique kind of engaging erudition that has much to offer for general audiences as well as more academic ones. Buy, read, share Prevail to friends, family, and colleagues."
--Phil Zimbardo, President & Founder, Heroic Imagination Project
"Whether you are seeking solutions to dilemmas that you are confronting or deeper and better ways to think about them, Robert Klitgaard's wide-ranging book will give you lots to contemplate."
--Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education
"Robert Klitgaard is one of those rare professors who harnesses rigorous academic inquiry to big human questions, making his writing both insightful and relevant. With each new work, Klitgaard further journeys far beyond the status of academic intellectual to the role of wise teacher from whom we can all learn.''
--Jim Collins, author of Good to Great
"Reading Klitgaard's exploration of intimate partnerships will deepen your romantic love and result in a sustained experience of joy, passion, and human flourishing."
--Kimberly J. Miller, author of Boundaries for Your Soul
"Too often, life is about getting by, avoiding hardship and upheaval. That is a missed opportunity. In Prevail, Robert Klitgaard masterfully lays out the hero's path to ordinary greatness by seeing all of life as a calling. We all need this book."
--Arthur C. Brooks, author of The Road to Freedom
"Prevail gives us practical advice on how to face life's big challenges, based on the examples set by people who have lived lives that are full, not necessarily with accomplishments, but with service, gratitude, and intimacy."
--Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University
"Presented very much from a Christian perspective, this excellent book actually reflects the wisdom of all the world's great religions. It provides invaluable resources and wonderful inspiration."
--David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee
"After reading this book, I feel delighted and enriched. For all of us who face pivotal, or even cyclical, transitions and crises in our lives, this book provides guidance and wisdom. It does so with a playful lightness of touch that refreshes rather than weighs you down--indeed, a rare achievement. Drawing from a lifetime of reading broadly and working respectfully with peoples around the world, Klitgaard's synthesis is a blessing to us all."
--Ronald Heifetz, Harvard Kennedy School
"Bob Klitgaard, always a provocative thinker and teacher, has ventured into fascinating territory in this book. . . . Prevail offers glimpses of Klitgaard's global adventures and his own wisdom, perhaps best summarized in the recurring phrase 'both/and.' But it offers above all an extraordinary exploration of deep personal challenges and insights that draw on an unparalleled array of perspectives and wisdom."
--Katherine Marshall, Executive Director, World Faiths Development Dialogue
"This is an extraordinary book. . . . Drawing on his own deep learning and academic expertise and the personal insights of a lifetime, Bob Klitgaard sets out a brilliant framework of wisdom, experience, and understanding to help us on our way by discovering and developing heroism in our own lives and in the lives of others."
--Jesse Norman, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
"Prevail is a dynamic new way of thinking about how you can learn from the example of others to create your future self. . . . It's for anyone who has a calling or (like me) desperately wants one. If you want to stay on that path you're on, don't bother to read this book. If you want to think in ways that will help you prevail in business and in life, this is the book for you."
--Donald E. Gibson, Manhattan College
"Ranging across disciplines and drawing on capacious learning, Klitgaard examines possible responses, finds guidance in the heroic journey, and envisions a path for prevailing that calms and inspires."
--Robert Allen Skotheim, President emeritus, Whitman College
"Everyone is called to be a hero: this is the radical and transformative message of this book. It is a must-read for the highly cultured audience toward which it is pitched. But it is also a 'must-do' for every ordinary person in the modern world. Klitgaard's Prevail is a pleasure to read."
--Jesus P. Estanislao, former Secretary of Finance of the Philippines
"When a scientist as accomplished as Bob Klitgaard offers his wisdom for how to live a full human life, it's worth paying attention. Prevail does not disappoint. Klitgaard . . . explains how heroes make sense of upheavals and life-changing choices to find their purpose between the extremes of asceticism and addiction . . . . Prevail is a delightful and thought-provoking book wherever we are in our journey through life."
--Michael Muthukrishna, London School of Economics and Political Science
"This thoughtful work from one of my favorite modern thinkers doesn't just encourage readers to live lives of meaning and purpose by taking their cues from heroes, it empowers them to live such heroic lives. It's spiritual without being preachy, instructive without feeling didactic, motivational without the mindless, vapid axioms--just like the author himself. Read this book and prepare to prevail."
--Jeff Davenport, Principal, Lighthouse Point Communication
"When you're feeling like life has gotten a bit off track, or when you just need to reenergize your pursuit of purpose in life, read this book. In inspiring us and guiding us to discover--or rediscover--our calling, it does precisely what it implores its readers to do; it prevails!"
--Kendall Cotton Bronk, Claremont Graduate University
"In overwhelming times when feelings of anxiety and inadequacy dominate, Robert Klitgaard invites us to consider a truly transformative response: the path of learning not just to cope but to prevail through choosing to discern and be grounded in our calling, insight, gratitude, and sharing and serving with compassion. I no sooner finished this deeply meaningful and thoughtfully written book than I began sharing its important themes and insights with others."
--Charles W. Barker, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, retired
"Klitgaard's thirst for knowledge and care for humanity has caused him to develop a magnificent and unequaled approach to the distinctive human characteristics and our potentialities."
--Mashi Rahmani, CEO, MMC
"If anyone can write a book that guides us in the midst of disruptions to make discerning decisions, Bob has something to say. As I face challenges big and small, I look forward to the nuggets of ideas and frameworks he provides to be some of my decision-making guideposts. I have made it a point not to read many books on the how-tos of leadership, so for this very reason Prevail is being read!"
--Barry Corey, President, Biola University
