- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (3 Feb 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184737770X
- ISBN-13: 978-1847377708
- Product Dimensions: 15.4 x 2.7 x 23.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 79,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril
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Product Description
Review
"Heffernan's cogent, riveting look at how we behave at our worst encourages us to strive for our best" --US Publishers' Weekly
'...using psychological studies and interviews and applies her theory to explain why incidents such as the financial crisis occur' --Daily Express, February 25, 2011
'...using psychological studies and interviews and applies her theory to explain why incidents such as the financial crisis occur' --Daily Express, February 25, 2011
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The past decade has, perhaps, seen more than its fair share of failures, from the investors left penniless and destitute by the collapse of Enron or the exposure of the Madoff fraud, or the gross irresponsibility and greed of banks, though the disaster of the Iraq war and its aftermath to the egregious mishandling of the New Orleans hurricane or the gigantic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Margaret Heffernan's thesis is that these and many other examples are the consequence of wilful blindness; the inability of knowing subjects to see what was clearly manifest before them.
The book is an engrossing tour de force describing these and many other examples, often augmented by revealing interviews with those who were closest to the action. This in itself makes riveting reading, but Heffernan does far more than this; she adds rich and perceptive commentary supplemented, in many cases, by results from psychological and medical research papers, including recent intriguing data from fMRI scans that reveal, in some cases, that we are driven by the limbic brain (the amygdala) which is so tenuously linked to the cortex where our higher mental processes are carried out. The theme is reminiscent of a long-forgotten book by Arthur Koestler (The Ghost in the Machine), written well before fMRI scanning was invented, in which he discusses consequences for humanity of this uncertain communication channel.
In her penultimate chapter, Heffernan discusses some cases of whistle blowers, the truly courageous and invariably persecuted people who are driven by higher moral instincts to take a stand when they have seen that misdemeanour must be exposed. The final chapter `See Better' is a masterly discussion of the wider philosophical and psychological themes that are exemplified by the earlier material.
In recent years, Margaret Heffernan has written extensively on business matters, and it is especially interesting to see that smaller organisations, where internal discussion and criticism is facilitated, can avoid the pitfalls that have wreaked havoc in large complex and hierarchical corporations like BP, where the top down edict of `reduce costs by 25%' have, in the end, led to hugely expensive and fatal catastrophe.
This is a book that no serious business person can afford to ignore. Likewise, it will surely have significant impact for students of psychology and sociology whilst being readable and accessible in a way that will appeal to the general public.
The book is an engrossing tour de force describing these and many other examples, often augmented by revealing interviews with those who were closest to the action. This in itself makes riveting reading, but Heffernan does far more than this; she adds rich and perceptive commentary supplemented, in many cases, by results from psychological and medical research papers, including recent intriguing data from fMRI scans that reveal, in some cases, that we are driven by the limbic brain (the amygdala) which is so tenuously linked to the cortex where our higher mental processes are carried out. The theme is reminiscent of a long-forgotten book by Arthur Koestler (The Ghost in the Machine), written well before fMRI scanning was invented, in which he discusses consequences for humanity of this uncertain communication channel.
In her penultimate chapter, Heffernan discusses some cases of whistle blowers, the truly courageous and invariably persecuted people who are driven by higher moral instincts to take a stand when they have seen that misdemeanour must be exposed. The final chapter `See Better' is a masterly discussion of the wider philosophical and psychological themes that are exemplified by the earlier material.
In recent years, Margaret Heffernan has written extensively on business matters, and it is especially interesting to see that smaller organisations, where internal discussion and criticism is facilitated, can avoid the pitfalls that have wreaked havoc in large complex and hierarchical corporations like BP, where the top down edict of `reduce costs by 25%' have, in the end, led to hugely expensive and fatal catastrophe.
This is a book that no serious business person can afford to ignore. Likewise, it will surely have significant impact for students of psychology and sociology whilst being readable and accessible in a way that will appeal to the general public.
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book fascinating and couldn't put it down. The book is both authoritative and extremely readable. Margaret Heffernan uses research evidence well. Like many others I already knew the Milgram research but she presents it freshly and she does the same with the other research evidence that she uses. I liked the way in which she included aspects of her own "wilful blindness" to illustrate how we all are prone to this condition at times. The juxtaposition of wilful blindness in business and wilful blindness in a social setting is masterly. The consequences of wilful blindness can be devastating; the implications of the story of the people of Libby, Montana should be a lesson to everyone. This book helps everyone to think again.
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
So first, in the spirit of full disclosure, it's important that you know that my wife wrote this book and even asked me to produce a review. You might then want to dismiss my five stars as simply the price of a quiet life. But on the other hand, you don't know how many times she has asked for similar online support and found me wanting. If you knew that, you might award the book fifteen stars, understanding how difficult it was to bring me to do this. In the end I wrote this because I think `Wilful Blindness' is a book that speaks to everyone. It illuminates the darkness of the secret bargains and compromises we all make to remain sane. It explains how the brain can exceed it's apparent limits and the price that it pays for doing that. It testifies to the heroism of those who are compelled to stand up for the truth and how hard such clear-sight can be. If you let it, this book will change forever how you see yourself and the world around you. It is not a book about the crimes of an ignorant and uncaring few whose actions led to disaster. It's about how we are all blind, how at the moments of our greatest certainty we are the closest to our greatest disaster, and how we can all learn to see better.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting and informative but too long
This books is interesting and informative but too long, with too many anecdotes which have been told many times in similar books. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ransen Owen
"Wilful Blindness" can aid sight
This was given to me by a friend and I started to read it only to humour here as I can't stand self help books. This is an intriguing and fascinating book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. K. Holmes
The Usual Suspects
This book looks at an interesting subject, but I was put off by the political bias in the examples used. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Abusam
A Must Read
This is a book well worth reading. Margaret Heffernan does a great job in alerting us to the very human drive to see things the way we want to based on our need to conform to the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by T. P. Bermingham
A book that makes you think about your own life
I picked this book up from the shelf to take to holiday. It hasn't disappointed. It has really got me thinking about my own life and workplace. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Sadiq
Fine as far as it goes
This book could be less than half its current length, and miss out nothing. It repeats itself endlessly by giving one long, drawn-out example after another, when a few paragraphs... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Heliotrope
Everyone should read this book
I heard Margaret on the Radio and was enticed to buy the book. I have taken ages to read it as I keep reading a section and then stopping to have a good think. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S George
Good advice, but runs out of steam.
Heffernan has a good point to make, although she sadly over eggs her miracle cure that she promises. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Simon Rorke
Opened my Eyes
Very occasionally a book appears that distils a human characteristic that pervades a society which encourages you to rethink your opinions. Read more
Published 11 months ago by M. Hillmann
Interesting study of 'willed ignorance' and moral failure
Margaret Heffernan is an experienced senior businesswoman and academic, as well as an established writer and speaker on business-related issues and a former writer, director and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Paul Bowes
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