The Right Kind of Crazy: My Life as a Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell
by
Clint Emerson
Atria Books
Hardcover
From the
publisher's website:
Clint Emerson is the only SEAL ever inducted into the International Spy Museum. Operating from the shadows, with an instinct for running towards trouble, his unique skill set made him the perfect hybrid operator.
Emerson spent his career on the bleeding edge of intelligence and operations, often specializing in missions that took advantage of subterfuge, improvisation, the best in recon and surveillance tech to combat the changing global battlefield. MacGyvering everyday objects into working spyware was routine, and fellow SEALs referred to his activities simply as “special shit.” His parameters were: find, fix, and finish—and of course, leave no trace.
He operated by only two codes: “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying” and “it’s only illegal if you get caught.” The Right Kind of Crazy is unlike any military memoir you’ve ever read because Emerson is upfront about the fact that what makes you a great soldier and sometimes hero doesn’t always make you the best guy—but it does make for damn good stories.
A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership, and High-Stakes Innovation
by
Adam Steltzner with
William Patrick
Portfolio Books
Hardcover
From the
publisher's website:
The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is home to some of history’s most jaw-dropping
feats of engineering. When NASA needed to land Curiosity—a 2,000-pound,
$2.5 billion rover—on the surface of Mars, 140 million miles away, they turned
to JPL. Steltzner’s team couldn’t test their kooky solution, the Sky Crane.
They were on an unmissable deadline, and the world would be watching when they
succeeded—or failed.
At the helm of this effort was an unlikely rocket scientist and accidental
leader, Adam Steltzner. After barely graduating from high school, he followed
his curiosity to the local community college to find out why the stars moved.
Soon he discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. After getting his
Ph.D. he ensconced himself within JPL, NASA’s decidedly unbureaucratic cousin,
where success in a mission is the only metric that matters.
The Right Kind of Crazy is a first-person account of innovation that is
relevant to anyone working in science, art, or technology. For instance,
Steltzner describes:
·How his team learned to switch from fear-based to curiosity-based decision
making
·How to escape “The Dark Room”—the creative block caused by fear, uncertainty,
and the lack of a clear path forward
·How to tell when we’re too in love with our own ideas to be objective about
them—and, conversely, when to fight for them
·How to foster mutual respect within teams while still bashing bad ideas
The Right Kind of Crazy is a book for anyone who wants to channel their
craziness into creativity, balance discord and harmony, and find a signal in a
flood of noise.
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Atria Books
