LONG FUSE, BIG BANG Achieving Long-Term Success Through Daily Victories

More than an achievement lesson, this outstanding book is a sweeping overview of how the brain’s ancient preferences for simple short-term payoffs can co-opt people’s efforts when they’re working toward large-scale change. The fascinating case studies cover a range from small ad hoc groups to whole nations and show that this type of change requires patience, creativity, and social finesse. The examples reflect a rich historical perspective as well as the author’s high-level assignments with the U.S. intelligence community and Disney Imagineering. Sounding fresh and youthful at first, narrator Kirby Heyborne reads with a sophisticated maturity that sneaks up on listeners. His tone is sober but never alarming or overwrought. It’s a perfect vehicle for the gravitas of the writing, especially when he’s delivering the slow-building narratives from business, medicine, international politics, and the author’s own experiences in the trenches. T.W. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2012]