Sign-In
Cart
Crucibles: How Formidable Rites of Passage Shape the World's Most Elite Organizations
Hardcover
Business GeneralManagementAnthropology
Publisher Price: $30.00
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 1572843527
ISBN13: 9781572843523
Publisher: Agate B2
Published: Jun 10 2025
Pages: 288
Weight: 1.00
Height: 1.20 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.70
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781572843523
Publisher: Agate B2
Published: Jun 10 2025
Pages: 288
Weight: 1.00
Height: 1.20 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.70
Language: English
What do ancient Shaolin monks, NASA astronauts, and the Mafia have in common? How did the rites of passage that have shaped groups ranging from the U.S. Marines to the Swiss Guard influence the way those elite organizations operate today? And what can modern leaders learn from the crucibles that shape the members of the world's most formidable organizations? In Crucibles: How Rites of Passage Shape the World's Most Elite Organizations, readers will encounter the unique initiation rituals of fourteen elite groups--both historical and contemporary--that have shaped civilizations, fortified leaders, and made lasting impacts on culture and power dynamics in societies around the globe and across time. From the grueling physical trials of traditional warrior castes to the intellectual challenges faced by members of secret societies, Crucibles delves deep into the tests such groups design and deploy to separate aspirants from the chosen few.
Why are people willing to endure such demanding trials? What do these crucible experiences reveal about human nature and commitment? And how do these crucibles shape the organizations that require them--both for better and worse? This book uncovers the universal principles behind these rites of passage and offers insights that modern organizations can use to design their own rigorous processes, fostering excellence while remaining ethical and relevant in today's world.
With practical lessons for leaders in business, education, and beyond, Crucibles is an in-depth journey into understanding how elite groups are forged. Readers will discover how these time-honored practices can inform and inspire the next generation of leaders. If you are curious about how elite groups have marshaled these experiences to shape human excellence as they define it, Crucibles offers a provocative exploration of the unique and sometimes hidden role played by such initiation rituals.
With practical lessons for leaders in business, education, and beyond, Crucibles is an in-depth journey into understanding how elite groups are forged. Readers will discover how these time-honored practices can inform and inspire the next generation of leaders. If you are curious about how elite groups have marshaled these experiences to shape human excellence as they define it, Crucibles offers a provocative exploration of the unique and sometimes hidden role played by such initiation rituals.
Also in
Anthropology
Playing Oppression: The Legacy of Conquest and Empire in Colonialist Board Games
Flanagan, Mary
Jakobsson, Mikael
Hardcover
$52.50
The Language of the Face: Stories of Its Uniquely Expressive Features
Gonzalez-Crussi, Frank
Hardcover
$28.45
Mountain Farmers: Moral Economies of Land & Agricultural Development in Arusha & Meru
Spear, Thomas
Paperback
$53.58
Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949
Eastman, Lloyd E.
Paperback
$169.49
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Wudunn, Sheryl
Paperback
From $8.99
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017
Khalidi, Rashid
Paperback
$18.99
Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us about the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
Doucleff, Michaeleen
Paperback
$22.80
How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words
Galer, Sophia Smith
Hardcover
$28.80
The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins
Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt
Paperback
$17.06
This Book May Cause Side Effects: The Curious and Dangerous Power of the Nocebo Effect, Placebo's Evil Twin
Pilcher, Helen
Hardcover
$27.00
How to Build a Haunted House: The History of a Cultural Obsession
Blackwell Baines, Caitlin
Hardcover
$28.45
Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals That Direct Our Lives
Gelfand, Michele
Paperback
$18.99
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
McGowan, David
Paperback
$23.70
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive
Stein, Eliot
Hardcover
From $17.99
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
Rutherford, Adam
Paperback
$18.95
Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology (Second Edition)
Aguilera, Kelsie
Paperback
$91.35
Unproven, Unlikely, and Firmly Believed: Why We Fall for History's Most Seductive Conspiracy Theories, and How We Rediscover Reality
Elledge, Jonn
Phillips, Tom
Paperback
$17.06
Magic from the Hilltops and Hollers: Folk Witchery, Superstitions, and Healing Practices from Appalachia
Middleton, Leah
Paperback
$18.00
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
Lukianoff, Greg
Haidt, Jonathan
Paperback
From $10.99
Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Healing
Monroe, Shafia
Paperback
$17.99
The Rules That Make Us: How Culture Shapes the Way We Act, Think, Believe, and Buy
Sweet, Oliver
Hardcover
$27.00
Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge a Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
McKenna, Terence
Paperback
From $11.99
A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
Clements, Jonathan
Paperback
$15.15
Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being
Berman, Marc
Paperback
$17.10
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
McDougall, Christopher
Paperback
$18.05
Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us about the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
Doucleff, Michaeleen
Hardcover
$33.25
Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
Boyle, Rebecca
Paperback
$20.90
All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work
Campbell, Hayley
Paperback
$18.05
The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-Of-The-Century America
Baron, David
Hardcover
$28.49
Everything All at Once: How to Think Like a Science Guy, Solve Any Problem, and Make a Better World
Nye, Bill
Paperback
From $9.99
Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation
Mead, Margaret
Paperback
$17.09
Wilmington's Lie (Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize): The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy
Zucchino, David
Paperback
$17.10
Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being
Berman, Marc
Hardcover
$28.50
The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy
Graeber, David
Paperback
$20.89
Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of
Tedlock, Dennis
Paperback
$18.99
The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
Henrich, Joseph
Paperback
$23.75
Japanese Stories for Language Learners: Bilingual Stories in Japanese and English (Online Audio Included)
McNulty, Anne
Sato, Eriko
Paperback
$17.09
The Healing Wisdom of Africa: Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual, and Community
Some, Malidoma Patrice
Paperback
From $10.99
The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-Of-The-Century America
Baron, David
Paperback
$17.99
True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradis
McKenna, Terence
Paperback
$17.09
The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why
Nisbett, Richard
Paperback
From $8.99
Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults
Hassan, Steven
Paperback
$23.69
Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond
Lee, Martin A.
Shlain, Bruce
Paperback
$18.05
In Praise of Addiction: Or How We Can Learn to Love Dependency in a Damaged World
Roberts, Elizabeth F. S.
Hardcover
$28.45
Playing Well with Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Exploring and Navigating the Kink, Leather and Bdsm Communities
Williams, Mollena
Harrington, Lee
Paperback
$18.95
The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter
Henrich, Joseph
Paperback
$19.90
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond
Underhill, Paco
Paperback
From $10.99
Lost on Planet China: One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation
Troost, J. Maarten
Paperback
$22.00
NKJV Study Bible, Leathersoft, Brown, Comfort Print: The Complete Resource for Studying God's Word
Thomas Nelson
Hardcover
$66.49
Language and Life on Ocracoke: The Living History of the Brogue
Gaskill, Candy
Reaser, Jeffrey
Wolfram, Walt
Paperback
$23.75
The Essential Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations
Keating, Elizabeth, PH. D.
Hardcover
$20.90
Ra Y El Camino de la Unidad: Un Viaje Hacia La Unicidad, La Luz Y El Despertar de la Conciencia
Gonzalez, Dalia Margarita Aldana
Aldana, Margarita
Paperback
$28.56