THE FAILURE BOOK

Fear of failure keeps many from pursuing challenges in life, but these profiles of successful people from a variety of fields may affirm and inspire the reluctant.

The 22 activists, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, heads of state, and scientists profiled all experienced numerous failures before achieving success. The text is formatted as a game, with readers encouraged to guess from a listing of their failures who the subject is. The following page has a picture of the person, a brief profile of their accomplishments, and a few quotes. Among those profiled are Albert Einstein, who did not learn to read until he was 7; Martin Luther King Jr., who received a C in public speaking at seminary; J.K. Rowling, whose first book was rejected 12 times; Julia Child, whose recipes were rejected for publication in magazines; and Mohandas K. Gandhi, whose law practice failed after two years. At the end of each chapter, activities encourage readers to think about setting goals, anticipating challenges, and overcoming obstacles. Unfortunately, the sketchy profiles offer little insight into how these figures did likewise. Moreover, the framing of disability, cultural difference, and obstacles imposed by societal inequity as “failure” sends a deeply troubling message. Clara Barton “had a lisp”; fluent Hindi speaker Gandhi “couldn’t speak English well”; Serena Williams endured a crowd that “booed and screamed insults” (that these were racist insults goes unmentioned). There are no source notes, bibliography, or suggestions for further reading.

Fails.