Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us

Pay with

About Corruptible: Who Gets Power And How It Changes Us

Product Description A provocative and revelatory look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (for a while, at least) have had the upper hand—from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas. Does power corrupt, or are corrupt people drawn to power? Are entrepreneurs who embezzle and cops who kill the result of poorly designed systems or are they just bad people? Are tyrants made or born? If you were suddenly thrust into a position of power, would you be able to resist the temptation to line your pockets or seek revenge against your enemies? To answer these questions, Corruptible draws on over 500 interviews with some of the world’s top leaders—from the noblest to the dirtiest—including presidents and philanthropists as well as rebels, cultists, and dictators. Some of the fascinating insights include: how facial appearance determines who we pick as leaders, why narcissists make more money, why some people don’t want power at all and others are drawn to it out of a psychopathic impulse, and why being the “beta” (second in command) may actually be the optimal place for health and well-being. Corruptible also features a wealth of counterintuitive examples from history and social science: you’ll meet the worst bioterrorist in American history, hit the slopes with a ski instructor who once ruled Iraq, and learn why the inability of chimpanzees to play baseball is central to the development of human hierarchies. Based on deep, unprecedented research from around the world, Corruptible will challenge your most basic assumptions about becoming a leader and what might happen to your head when you get there. It also provides a roadmap to avoiding classic temptations, suggesting a series of reforms that would facilitate better people finding a path to power—and ensuring that power purifies rather than corrupts. Review "ABSORBING, PROVOCATIVE, FAR-REACHING...Essential for interpreting history and world events—both the province of tyrants—alike."  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)  “ILLUMINATING…reveals why some people and systems are more likely to be corrupted by power than others."  —Adam Grant, #1  New York Times bestselling author of  Think Again   “A FASCINATING, FUN READ…Klaas has striking insights, presents impeccable science accessibly, and tells terrific stories—all with great writing and wonderfully mordant humor.”  —Robert Sapolsky, New York Times bestselling author of Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst “A NEW, INSIGHTFUL, AND SEDITIOUS ROADMAP TO THE PRIMAL URGE TO DOMINATE… Dangerous as a drug addiction, power changes both those who have it and those who just want a quick fix.”  —Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent of NBC News  "AN EXTRAORDINARY INTERROGATION OF THE WORKINGS OF POWER... A critical book for these troubling times. A must read!"  —Eddie S. Glaude Jr., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University "ENGROSSING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, AND FUNNY... an important exploration of how ordinary people can keep leadership out of the hands of monsters." —Heather Cox Richardson, author of How the South Won the Civil War and the newsletter "Letters from an American" "THE FREAKONOMICS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE... With revelations that reach from global politics to how your company is managed, this is a perceptive and, above all, entertaining read." —Max Boot, Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations “PASSIONATE, INSIGHTFUL, AND OCCASIONLLY JAW-DROPPING… Corruptible sets out the story of the intoxicating lure of power—and how it has shaped the modern world.”  —Peter Frankopan, internationally bestselling author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World "RICH INSIGHTS AND FASCINATING OBSERVATIONS... Shines a light on recent efforts to ensure that the corrupt don't get power, and the incorruptible do."