Josh Waitzkin is an American chess prodigy, international martial arts champion, and author. He was the basis for the book and film “Searching for Bobby Fischer”, which portrayed his childhood rise to the top of the competitive chess world. Waitzkin has since become a successful author, public speaker, and entrepreneur.
Waitzkin was born in New York City and began playing chess at the age of six. He quickly rose to prominence, becoming the youngest U.S. Chess Federation master in history at the age of nine. He went on to become the National Chess Champion three years in a row, and at the age of twelve he achieved the rank of International Master.
In addition to his success in the competitive chess world, Waitzkin also trained and competed in martial arts. After becoming the National Tai Chi Push Hands Champion and the National Tai Chi Chuan Champion, he went on to win the World Championship of Tai Chi Push Hands in 1997.
Waitzkin retired from competitive chess at the age of sixteen to pursue other interests. He attended Columbia University, where he majored in English and studied philosophy and psychology. After college, Waitzkin immersed himself in the world of poker. He became a professional poker player and won the 2006 World Series of Poker.&nbsp;
In addition to his professional successes, Waitzkin is an accomplished author. He wrote the book “The Art of Learning”, which explores his journey to mastery in both chess and martial arts. He also wrote “The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence” and “The Art of Learning Journal”. Waitzkin has been featured in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.&nbsp;
Today, Waitzkin is a sought-after public speaker and consultant, as well as a business coach. He has spoken at a variety of conferences and events, including TEDx and the World Economic Forum. In addition to his public speaking engagements, Waitzkin is the co-founder of the Waitzkin Institute, which provides consulting and coaching services to individuals and organizations. He also serves as the chairman of the board of directors for the International Chess Federation.&nbsp;
Josh Waitzkin is an inspirational figure who has achieved success in multiple fields. His dedication to excellence, combined with his ability to adapt to new challenges, has enabled him to achieve a level of success rarely seen in any single field.

Josh

Atlanta-born journalist and historian Taylor Branch is best known for his epic narrative trilogy of the civil rights era, America in the King Years. He has written extensively for national magazines, and he has authored or collaborated on influential books about United States politics and American sports.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Branch grew up in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta during the 1950s, and he has said that he first became aware of racism when he and his father went to Atlanta Crackers baseball games at Ponce de Leon Park, where he saw black fans and white fans segregated by race. Drawn to the civil rights struggle as a teenager watching televised news of black marchers in the South being attacked by police, Branch became involved in political activism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a degree in history.
After college, Branch joined the Georgia Delegation of Loyal National Democrats, which challenged the seating of the Lester Maddox delegation at the 1968 national Democratic convention on the grounds of cronyism and racial inequality. Then in 1969, while working on a master’s degree in public affairs at Princeton, Branch took a job registering rural black voters in southwest Georgia. He kept a diary that his professor showed to an editor at Washington Monthly, and the magazine invited Branch to develop his impressions into two stories.&nbsp;
“Freedom of Choice Desegregation” in November 1969 and “Black Fear” in January 1970 became the first of many articles Branch would write for the Monthly, where he worked as a writer and editor until 1973. Branch’s magazine work in the 1970s built his reputation as an exhaustive researcher and talented writer and prepared him for several book-length projects that preceded his civil rights history. In 1972 he and Yale law school student (later to be President) Bill Clinton co-managed the George McGovern presidential campaign in Texas.&nbsp;
That same year Branch contributed several articles to Blowing the Whistle: Dissent in the Public Interest, a book he co-edited on government whistleblowing. He collaborated on three more publications: Blind Ambition: The White House Years by John Dean (as a ghostwriter); Second Wind: Memoirs of an Opinionated Man, with basketball star Bill Russell; and Labyrinth, a book on the Washington D.C. assassination of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier that Branch co-wrote with the case’s prosecutor. After leaving Washington Monthly, he joined the staff of Harpers Magazine (1973-1975) as Washington editor and was a featured columnist for Esquire (1976-1977).&nbsp;
After he left Esquire and completed work on Second Wind, Branch published a novel, Empire Blues, a political satire set in Washington. Then he began the work with which he would come to be identified, his three-book history of America in the King Years.
The trilogy, which Branch has called his major life’s work, required more than twenty-four years of intensive research between 1982 and 2006. The first volume, Parting the Waters, would share the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for history with James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, and it also won the 1988 National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.

Taylor

Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947;[a]) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped from prison in 1979 and is currently wanted by the FBI, with a $2 million reward for her apprehension.
Born in Flushing, Queens, she grew up in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina. After she ran away from home several times, her aunt, who would later act as one of her lawyers, took her in. She became involved in political activism at Borough of Manhattan Community College and City College of New York.&nbsp;
After graduation, she began using the name Assata Shakur and briefly joined the Black Panther Party. She then joined the BLA, a loosely knit offshoot of the Black Panthers, which engaged in an armed struggle against the US government through tactics such as robbing banks and killing police officers and drug dealers.
Between 1971 and 1973, she was charged with several crimes and was the subject of a multi-state manhunt. In May 1973, Shakur was arrested after being wounded in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike. Also involved in the shootout were New Jersey State Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper and BLA members Sundiata Acoli and Zayd Malik Shakur.&nbsp;
State Trooper Harper was wounded; Zayd Shakur was killed; State Trooper Foerster was killed. Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping in relation to the shootout and six other incidents. She was acquitted on three of the charges, and three were dismissed. In 1977, she was convicted of the murder of State Trooper Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the 1973 shootout.&nbsp;
Her defense had argued medical evidence suggested her innocence since her arm was damaged in the shootout. While serving a life sentence for murder, Shakur escaped in 1979, with assistance from the BLA and members of the May 19 Communist Organization, from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, NJ, now the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.&nbsp;
She surfaced in Cuba in 1984, where she was granted political asylum. Shakur has lived in Cuba since, despite US government efforts to have her returned. She has been on the FBI Most Wanted terrorist list since 2013 as Joanne Deborah Chesimard and was the first woman to be added to this list.

Assata

Jung Chang is a Chinese-British writer now living in London, best known for her family autobiography Wild Swans, selling over 10 million copies worldwide but was banned in the People's Republic of China. Her 832-page biography of Mao Zedong, Mao: The Unknown Story, written with her husband, the Irish historian Jon Halliday, was published in June 2005.
Chang was born on 25 March 1952 in Yibin, Sichuan Province. Her parents were both Chinese Communist Party officials, and her father was greatly interested in literature. As a child, she quickly developed a love of reading and writing, which included composing poetry.
As Party cadres, life was relatively good for her family at first; her parents worked hard, and her father became successful as a propagandist at a regional level. His formal ranking was as a "level 10 official", meaning that he was one of 20,000 or so most important cadres, or gan bu, in the country. The Communist Party provided her family with a dwelling in a guarded, walled compound, a maid and chauffeur, as well as a wet nurse and nanny for Chang and her four siblings.
Chang writes that she was originally named Er-hong, which sounds like the Chinese word for "faded red." As communists were "deep red," she asked her father to rename her when she was 12 years old, specifying she wanted "a name with a military ring to it." He suggested "Jung," which means "martial affairs."
Like many of her peers, Chang chose to become a Red Guard at the age of 14 during the early years of the Cultural Revolution. In Wild Swans, she said she was "keen to do so" and "thrilled by my red armband." In her memoirs, Chang states that she refused to participate in the attacks on her teachers and other Chinese, and she left after a short period as she found the Red Guards too violent.
The failures of the Great Leap Forward led her parents to oppose Mao Zedong's policies. They were targeted during the Cultural Revolution, as most high-ranking officials were. When Chang's father criticized Mao by name, Chang writes in Wild Swans that this exposed them to retaliation from Mao's supporters. Her parents were publicly humiliated – the ink was poured over their heads, and they were forced to wear placards denouncing them around their necks, kneel in gravel, and stand outside in the rain – followed by imprisonment, her father's treatment leading to lasting physical and mental illness. Their careers were destroyed, and her family was forced to leave their home.
Before her parents' denunciation and imprisonment, Chang had unquestioningly supported Mao and criticized herself for any momentary doubts. But by the time of his death, her respect for Mao, she writes, had been destroyed. Chang wrote that when she heard he had died, she had to bury her head in the shoulder of another student to pretend she was grieving. She explained her change on the stance of Mao with the following comments:
The Chinese seemed to be mourning Mao in a heartfelt fashion. But I wondered how many of their tears were genuine. People had practiced acting to such a degree that they confused it with their true feelings. Weeping for Mao was perhaps just another programmed act in their programmed lives.
Chang's depiction of the Chinese people as having been "programmed" by Maoism would ring forth in her subsequent writings. According to Wild Swans (chapter 23-chapter 28), Chang's life during the Cultural Revolution and the years immediately after the Cultural Revolution was one of both a victim and one privileged.&nbsp;
Chang attended Sichuan University in 1973 and became one of the so-called "Students of Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers." Her father's government-sponsored official funeral was held in 1975. Chang was able to leave China and study in the UK on a Chinese government scholarship in 1978, a year before the post-Mao Reforms began.

Jung

Ricardo Semler is a Brazilian businessman and author. He is the CEO and majority owner of Semco Partners, a Brazilian manufacturing company. He is known for his unorthodox management style, which emphasizes worker autonomy and democracy in the workplace.
Ricardo Semler began his career at Semco, a Brazilian manufacturing company founded by his father. He took over as CEO in 1980 at the age of 24. He implemented several unconventional management practices, such as giving employees autonomy and decision-making power and implementing a profit-sharing program. These practices increased productivity and employee satisfaction, and Semco's revenue and profits grew significantly under Semler's leadership.
In addition to his role at Semco, Semler is also an author and speaker on management and organizational culture. He has written several books, including "Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace," which became an international best-seller. He is also a frequent keynote speaker at business conferences and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets.
Ricardo Semler is known for his philanthropy and social activism. He has been involved in several initiatives throughout his career, including founding the Semco Foundation, which supports a variety of social causes such as education and healthcare.
He also supports organizations that promote sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility. He is a founding member of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development. In addition, he has served on the boards of several other organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Brazilian Association for Corporate Governance.
In addition, Semler has also been a vocal advocate for education reform and strongly supports alternative education models. He has also been involved in several initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in Brazil.
Overall, Semler's philanthropy is driven by his belief in the power of business to create positive social change. However, he has also been vocal that companies should be held accountable for their impact on society and the environment.

Ricardo

Antonio García Martínez is an entrepreneur, investor, writer, and tech industry veteran. He has had a long and varied career, beginning in the early days of the dot-com boom and continuing today. Early in his career, Antonio worked in a variety of roles at companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs.
At Apple, Antonio held a variety of positions, including working on the retail side of the business, developing software, and helping to launch the Apple Store. At Microsoft, Antonio was involved in the development of a number of products, including Windows 95 and Windows 98. After leaving Microsoft, Antonio founded Adify, a venture-backed ad network that WPP eventually acquired.
More recently, Antonio has become an investor, author, and thought leader in the technology and venture capital industries. He has invested in a variety of startups, including Twitter, Uber, and Stripe. He is also the author of the book Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, which chronicles his experiences in the tech industry.
In addition to his work as an investor and author, Antonio is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. He has appeared on the TED stage, as well as at conferences including SXSW, DLD, and TechCrunch Disrupt. Antonio is often called upon to provide his expertise and insight into the tech industry, as well as his views on the current state of venture capital and startups.
Overall, Antonio García Martínez is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor, author, and thought leader. His wealth of experience and knowledge from working in and around the tech industry, combined with his excellent communication skills, make him a highly sought-after individual in the industry.

Antonio García

Mindy Kaling is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on the hit NBC sitcom “The Office” and the Fox comedy “The Mindy Project.” Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1979, Kaling was raised in a close-knit family of Indian immigrants. She attended Dartmouth College, where she studied playwriting and acting and graduated in 2001.
Kaling’s career began in the comedy world, writing for shows such as “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Simpsons.” She eventually joined the writing staff of “The Office” and became a co-executive producer during its final season. She also starred as the character Kelly Kapoor, a position and character she was praised for pioneering as a South Asian actress.
In 2012, Kaling created and starred in the Fox comedy series “The Mindy Project.” As the show’s star and executive producer, Kaling was praised for her work in creating a series that featured a strong female lead, a rarity in the television industry. The series ran for six seasons, with Kaling earning multiple awards and nominations for her writing and acting.
Kaling’s success has extended beyond television, as she has written and starred in two feature films, “The Night Before” and “Late Night.” She also wrote and starred in the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever” and wrote the best-selling memoir “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”
In recent years, Kaling has become a voice for female empowerment and racial representation in Hollywood. She has spoken out about the need for more diverse representation in the entertainment industry and works to ensure her own projects reflect these values. Kaling is a role model for women around the world and proves that hard work and dedication can lead to success.

Mindy

Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series.&nbsp;
Prior to Girls, Dunham wrote, directed, and starred in the semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Her second feature film, Sharp Stick, written and directed by Dunham, was released in 2022. Her third film, Catherine Called Birdy, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022.&nbsp;
It was released in a limited release on September 23, 2022, by Amazon Studios, prior to streaming on Prime Video on October 7, 2022. In 2013, Dunham was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, Dunham released her first book, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned."&nbsp;
In 2015, along with Girls showrunner Jenni Konner, Dunham created the publication Lenny Letter, a feminist online newsletter. The publication ran for three years before folding in late 2018. Dunham briefly appeared in films such as Supporting Characters and This Is 40 (both 2012) and Happy Christmas (2014).&nbsp;
She voiced Mary in the 2016 film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. On television, aside from Girls, she has played guest roles in Scandal and The Simpsons (both 2015). In 2017, she portrayed Valerie Solanas in American Horror Story: Cult. Dunham's work, as well as her outspoken presence on social media and in interviews, have attracted significant controversy, praise, criticism, and media scrutiny throughout her career.

Lena

Henry Alfred Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975. In July 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985. From 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
&nbsp;From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2016. Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.&nbsp;
He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co.; a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee. Among his other activities, Dr. Kissinger served as a member of the Board of Directors of ContiGroup Companies, Inc. from 1988-2014 and remains an Advisor to the Board, a position he also held at American Express Company since 2005, after serving on the Board from 1984.&nbsp;
He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a Director Emeritus of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.; and a Director of the International Rescue Committee. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986.
Dr. Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, came to the United States in 1938, and was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1943. He served in the Army from February 1943 to July 1946. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954.
From 1954 until 1969, he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University in both the Department of Government and the Center for International Affairs. He was the Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969.

Henry

Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist, and businesswoman. She was born Arianna Stassinopoulos on July 15, 1950, in Athens, Greece. She moved to the United Kingdom with her family when she was 16 and later studied economics at Girton College, Cambridge.
After graduating, Huffington began her career as a writer and commentator and was a prominent conservative commentator in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s. She later moved to the United States, where she continued her career as a political commentator and became a naturalized citizen in 1990.
In 2005, Huffington co-founded The Huffington Post, a news and opinion website, with Kenneth Lerer and Jonah Peretti. AOL acquired the site in 2011 for $315 million. She served as the site's editor-in-chief from 2005 to 2016.
Huffington is also a prolific author and has written several books, including "The Sleep Revolution," "Thrive," and "The Fourth Instinct: The Call of the Soul." She is also a public speaker and has delivered speeches on various topics, including well-being, media, and politics.
In 2016, Huffington resigned as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post to focus on her health and wellness startup, Thrive Global, which focuses on reducing workplace stress and burnout. She is still the CEO of Thrive Global.
AOL acquired the Huffington Post in 2011 for $315 million. In 2016, she stepped down as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post to focus on her new startup, Thrive Global, which aims to end the "epidemic of stress and burnout" by offering corporate wellness programs and products. Huffington is also an author, having written 14 books, including the best-seller "Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder."

Arianna

Erik Larson is the author of eight books, six of which became New York Times bestsellers. His latest books, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, both hit no. 1 on the list soon after launch. His saga of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, The Devil in the White City, was a finalist for the National Book Award and won an Edgar Award for fact-crime writing; it lingered on various Times bestseller lists for the better part of a decade.&nbsp;
Hulu plans to adapt the book for a limited TV series, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as executive producers. Erik’s In the Garden of Beasts, about how America’s first ambassador to Nazi Germany and his daughter experienced the rising terror of Hitler’s rule, has been optioned by Tom Hanks for development as a feature film.
Erik’s first book of narrative nonfiction, Isaac’s Storm, about the giant hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 1900, won the American Meteorology Society’s prestigious Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. The Washington Post called it the “Jaws of hurricane yarns.” Erik is particularly pleased to have won the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 2016 Carl Sandburg Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Russian history, language, and culture; he received a master's in journalism from Columbia University. After a brief stint at the Bucks County Courier Times, Erik became a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and later a contributing writer for Time Magazine. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and other publications.
He has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, the University of Oregon, and the Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham, Wash., and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. A former resident of Seattle, he now lives in Manhattan with his wife, a neonatologist, who is also the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home, which, as Erik puts it, “could make a stone cry.”&nbsp;
They have three daughters in far-flung locations and professions. Their beloved dog Molly resides in an urn on a shelf overlooking Central Park, where they like to think she now spends most of her time.

Erik

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a Lebanese-American essayist, scholar, statistician, and former trader and risk analyst whose work focuses on problems of randomness, probability, and uncertainty. He is the author of several books, including "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable," which was published in 2007 and became a bestseller.
Taleb is a former trader and risk analyst and has worked as a professor of risk engineering at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering. He has a background in mathematics, statistics, and computer science and has published numerous papers in academic journals on topics related to randomness and uncertainty.
Taleb's main area of research is the study of "black swans," which he defines as rare events that have a large impact and are typically not predictable. He argues that traditional risk assessment methods, such as using historical data to predict future events, are inadequate because they fail to consider the possibility of black swan events.
Taleb is also known for his criticism of the concept of "normalcy" in statistics and his skepticism of the use of mathematical models in finance and economics. He has argued that the assumptions made in these models are often unrealistic and can lead to dangerous oversimplifications.
In addition to his work in academia, Taleb is also a public intellectual and has written several books for a general audience. His books have been widely discussed and debated in the media and have been translated into multiple languages.
Taleb is a strong advocate for antifragility, a concept he has developed and popularized in his books. Antifragility is the property of a system or entity that improves when subjected to volatility, shocks, stressors, or disorder and doesn't just remain indifferent to them.
Taleb's writing style is often characterized as provocative and contrarian, and he is known for his strong opinions on a wide range of topics. His work has been influential in the fields of economics, finance, and risk management and has also been discussed in the broader cultural and intellectual conversation.

Nassim Nicholas

Robert Allan Caro is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson. After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote The Power Broker (1974), a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, which the Modern Library chose as one of the hundred most excellent nonfiction books of the twentieth century. He has since written four of a planned five volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012), a biography of the former President. Consequentially, he has been described as "the most influential biographer of the last century."&nbsp;
For his biographies, he has won two Pulitzer Prizes in Biography, two National Book Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), the Francis Parkman Prize (awarded by the Society of American Historians to the book that "best exemplifies the union of the historian and the artist"), three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Mencken Award for Best Book, the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, the D. B. Hardeman Prize, and a Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.&nbsp;
In addition, in 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Caro the National Humanities Medal. Due to Caro's reputation for exhaustive research and detail, he is sometimes invoked by reviewers of other writers called "Caro-Esque" for their extensive research. For his biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, three times won the National Book Critics Circle Award for the Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, and has won virtually every other significant literary honor, including two National Book Awards (one for Lifetime Achievement), the Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Art and Letters, and the Francis Parkman Prize.&nbsp;
In October 2007, Caro was named a "Holtzbrinck Distinguished Visitor" at the American Academy in Berlin, Germany, but could not attend. In 2010, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama, the highest award in the humanities given in the United States. Delivering remarks at the end of the ceremony, the President said, "I think about Robert Caro and reading The Power Broker back when I was 22 years old and just being mesmerized, and I'm sure it helped to shape how I think about politics."
In 2011, Robert Caro was the recipient of the 2011 BIO Award given each year by members of Biographers International "to a colleague who had made a major contribution in the advancement of the art and craft of real life depiction."

Robert

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, commonly known as Richard Branson, is a British business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies.
Branson was born in 1950 in Surrey, England, and began his career as a young entrepreneur, starting a student magazine called Student at the age of 16. He then went on to launch a record store, Virgin Records, which eventually became a record label and grew into the Virgin Group. The Virgin brand now encompasses a diverse range of industries, including aviation, hospitality, health, and renewable energy.
Branson is well-known for his adventurous and ambitious spirit, having made several attempts to break world records and make ambitious technological advancements. In 1986, he made an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon. He later succeeded in this goal in 1991 and also set a new record for the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing in a powerboat.
In addition to his business ventures, Branson is also actively involved in philanthropy and social causes. He is a strong advocate for environmental sustainability and has invested in a number of renewable energy projects through the Virgin Group. He also established the Virgin Unite foundation, which aims to make a positive impact on people and the planet by bringing together individuals, businesses, and non-profits to tackle social and environmental issues.
Branson is also known for his charismatic and flamboyant personality. He has been featured in numerous media outlets and is considered one of the most recognizable and respected entrepreneurs in the world. He has also been awarded several honors, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for "services to entrepreneurship."
In summary, Richard Branson is a highly successful and influential British entrepreneur, philanthropist, and adventurer. He is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, a conglomerate of over 400 companies, and is well-known for his ambitious spirit, philanthropy, and environmental advocacy. His charismatic personality and media presence has made him one of the most recognizable business figures in the world.

Richard

Chris Anderson is the Head of TED, a non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas through short, powerful talks. He is also the founder of TEDx, a program that allows communities and organizations to host TED-like events.
Anderson has been involved with TED since 2001 and took over as Head of TED in 2002. Under his leadership, TED has grown into a global phenomenon, with talks being viewed by millions of people in more than 100 languages. He has also been instrumental in expanding the reach of TED by making the words available for free online and by launching the TEDx program.
In addition to his work with TED, Anderson is also an entrepreneur and author. He is the founder of several successful companies. In addition, he has written several books, including "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More" and "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking."
Anderson is a firm believer in the power of ideas to change the world, and he has dedicated his career to promoting this idea through TED. He is a charismatic and dynamic speaker and has been praised for his ability to bring together diverse groups of people to share their thoughts and inspire change.
Anderson is also known for his innovative approach to curation, which has helped to make TED one of the most respected and widely-watched platforms for ideas. He has a keen eye for identifying new and emerging trends and is always looking for ways to bring fresh perspectives and voices to the TED stage.
He has also been a champion of using technology to democratize knowledge and ideas, making them more accessible to people worldwide. In addition, he has been an early adopter of new technologies, such as online video and social media, to help spread TED's message and reach new audiences.
Various organizations and publications have also recognized Anderson's work with TED. He has been honored with numerous awards for his contributions to the field of communications and education and has been named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.
In addition to his role at TED, Anderson is a sought-after speaker and advisor and has been invited to speak at conferences and events worldwide. In addition, he is a regular contributor to various publications, where he shares his insights on the future of technology, business, and culture.
Overall, Chris Anderson is a respected leader and a thought leader in the field of ideas and education, and he continues to inspire and innovate in his role as Head of TED. His work has helped make TED one of the most critical and influential platforms for sharing knowledge and ideas, and his contributions to the field will continue to be felt for years.

Chris

Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 when he was an employee and subcontractor.&nbsp;
His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many runs by the NSA and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. They prompted a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.
In 2013, Snowden was hired by an NSA contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, after previous employment with Dell and the CIA. Snowden says he gradually became disillusioned with the programs with which he was involved and that he tried to raise his ethical concerns through internal channels but was ignored.&nbsp;
On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong after leaving his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii. In early June, he revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Barton Gellman, and Ewen MacAskill. Snowden came to international attention after stories based on the material appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, and other publications.&nbsp;
Snowden also made extensive allegations against the GCSB, blowing the whistle on their domestic surveillance of New Zealanders and acts of espionage under John Key's government. On June 21, 2013, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, following which the Department of State revoked his passport.

Edward

In his latest spy thriller, David E. Hoffman returns to the captivating story of Oleg Gordievsky, the man who helped bring down the Soviet Union. If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky.&nbsp;
The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6.&nbsp;
For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as part of a larger plan to hasten the collapse of communism.

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, one of the world's largest and most successful technology companies, in 1975. Gates has been regularly ranked as one of the world's wealthiest people and was the richest from 1995 to 2017. As of November 2020, Gates had a net worth of US$132.1 billion, making him the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.
Gates held the positions of Chairman, CEO, and Chief Software Architect at Microsoft until 2000 when he stepped down from day-to-day operations. After leaving Microsoft, Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, co-chaired the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, a private charitable foundation dedicated to improving healthcare and education worldwide. Gates remains a board member of Microsoft and a Technology Advisor to its current CEO, Satya Nadella.
Gates is one of the most influential figures in technology and business. He has received numerous awards and honors for his philanthropic work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Aztec Eagle. He is also a member of the Giving Pledge, an organization created by billionaires Warren Buffett and Gates to promote charitable giving.
Gates has been a passionate advocate for using technology to improve the world. His vision of a computer on every desk and home has been realized. He is one of the most vocal proponents of using technology to address social and environmental challenges. He has also been outspoken in supporting government funding for scientific research, particularly renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
Gates' philanthropic efforts have been focused on improving global health, providing access to technology for underserved populations, and promoting educational opportunities for children and young adults. He has made significant investments in initiatives to fight poverty and increase access to medical care, particularly in the developing world. In addition, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with numerous organizations to promote improved sanitation, clean water, and disease prevention among the world's poorest people.
Gates' commitment to giving back has been an inspiration to many. His dedication to using technology and business to improve the lives of people around the world is an example of how successful people can use their resources to make a difference.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of open-source technology, advocating for the development of software and hardware that is freely available to the public. He has also been a vocal proponent of the open internet and a leader in the fight against censorship and government surveillance. In addition, he has been a strong advocate for using technology to combat climate change and has invested in numerous renewable energy initiatives.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of net neutrality and has spoken out in favor of increased competition in the technology sector. His efforts to improve people's lives worldwide have earned him the admiration of many, and his commitment to philanthropy and innovation has made him one of the world's most influential and respected figures.

Bill

Casey Neistat is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, vlogger, and co-founder of the multimedia company Beme. He first gained mainstream attention in 2003 with a film titled "iPod's Dirty Secret," which criticized Apple Inc. for not replacing batteries in their iPod devices. Since then, Neistat has become well-known for his unique and creative videos, which often explore topics related to technology, travel, fashion, and his life. He has also directed two feature films and created several television shows.
Neistat began his career in 2001 when he and his brother Van started a production company called "Spike &amp; Co." After releasing several low-budget skateboarding films, Casey's breakout film, "iPod's Dirty Secret," was released in 2003 and quickly went viral. The film brought him into the public eye and earned him a TED Talk in 2015.
Neistat's YouTube channel launched in 2010 and has since gained over 11 million subscribers. On his channel, he often posts vlogs, short films, and social experiments. Many of his videos have become viral, such as "Make It Count," which received over 28 million views in its first week. In 2016, he released his first feature film, "The Circle," which won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW.
Neistat has also created several television shows, including "The Neistat Brothers" on HBO and "Breakfast Time" on Vice. In 2015, he launched his own multimedia company, Beme, which produces content for YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. In 2016, he sold Beme to CNN for a reported $25 million.
Neistat is an outspoken advocate for the use of technology in storytelling and filmmaking. He has spoken at several conferences and universities, including TED, SXSW, and Harvard. He also regularly partners with tech companies, such as GoPro, to help promote their products.

Casey

Daniel Petre is an Australian technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. He is the founder and partner at AirTree Ventures, an Australian technology venture capital fund. Petre is known for his long and successful career in the technology industry, including his tenure as the Managing Director of Microsoft Australia.
Petre was born in Romania and moved to Australia with his family when he was five years old. He studied at the University of Melbourne, where he earned a degree in engineering and computer science. After completing his university studies, Petre began his career as a software engineer at IBM in Australia. He then moved to the United States to join Microsoft, where he served as Bill Gates’ personal lieutenant for four years.
During his time at Microsoft, Petre was responsible for launching Microsoft products such as Windows 95, Office 95, Internet Explorer, and Outlook. He also worked on the development of Microsoft’s strategy for the Asia Pacific region and was instrumental in the successful launch of Microsoft’s first Australian subsidiary.
In 1997, Petre returned to Australia to become the Managing Director of Microsoft Australia. During his tenure at Microsoft Australia, the company grew from a small start-up to a multi-million dollar business with more than 900 employees. Petre was also responsible for the launch of several of Microsoft’s major products in Australia, including Windows 2000, Office 2000, and Xbox.
In 2005, Petre left Microsoft to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams and founded Netus, an online retail venture. He also served as a director on the board of several Australian companies, including SEEK, REA Group, and Hoyts.
In 2010, Petre founded AirTree Ventures, an Australian technology venture capital fund. The firm has invested in more than 80 companies across the world, including Canva, Culture Amp, and Prospa. Petre has become a highly respected figure in the venture capital industry and is regularly sought after for advice by start-ups.
In addition to his professional career, Petre is a passionate philanthropist. He and his wife, Susan, established the Petre Foundation, which has donated millions of dollars to support educational and health initiatives in Australia. The Foundation also supports research into childhood cancer and funds scholarships for disadvantaged students in Australia.
Overall, Daniel Petre is a highly respected figure in the technology industry. With his impressive career at Microsoft, his successful entrepreneurial ventures, and his commitment to philanthropy, Petre is an inspiring figure who has made a mark on the Australian technology landscape.

Daniel

John le Carré

William Boyd

Lee Child

David Ignatius

Peter Bergen

In The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre explores the concept of loyalty in depth. He shows us how Oleg Gordievsky, the protagonist, was torn between his loyalty to his country and his moral compass. This book will make you question your own loyalties and what you would do in a similar situation.

The Power of Loyalty

Macintyre takes us on a thrilling journey into the world of espionage. He gives us a detailed look into the life of a spy, the risks they take, and the sacrifices they make. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live a life of secrets and lies, this book is a must-read.

The Intricacies of Espionage

The Spy and the Traitor shows us how one person's actions can have a massive impact on world events. Gordievsky's decisions and actions played a significant role in ending the Cold War. This book will make you see how even small actions can have big consequences.

The Impact of Individual Actions

Often, we think of spies as cold, calculating machines. But Macintyre shows us the human side of spies. He explores the emotional toll that living a double life can take on a person. This book will make you see spies in a new light.

The Human Side of Spies

In The Spy and the Traitor, the truth is a powerful weapon. Gordievsky's truth helped to bring about the end of the Cold War. This book will make you realize the importance of truth, even in a world full of deception and lies.

The Importance of Truth

The Spy and the Traitor

Macintyre is the elder son of Angus Donald Macintyre, Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford (elected Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, before his death in a car accident), author of the first scholarly work on the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, general editor of the Oxford Historical Monographs series from 1971 to 1979, editor of The English Historical Review from 1978 to 1986, and Chairman of the Governors of Magdalen College School from 1987 to 1990, and Joanna, daughter of Sir Richard Musgrave Harvey, 2nd Baronet and a descendant of Berkeley Paget. His paternal grandmother was a descendant of James Netterville, 7th Viscount Netterville.
Ben Macintyre is a columnist and Associate Editor of The Times. He has worked as the newspaper’s correspondent in New York, Paris, and Washington. He is the author of nine previous books, including Agent Zigzag. He was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008, and the no. 1 bestsellers A Spy Among Friends, Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross, and SAS: Rogue Heroes.
In 2019, The Spy and the Traitor, which tells the story of double KGB agent Oleg Gordievsky and was a No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller and shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize and National Book Awards. In 2020, Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy told the story of Ursula Kuczynski – codename Sonya – the greatest female spy of the 20th Century. Ben’s new book Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle, will be published on the 15th of September 2022, telling the astonishing true story of history’s most infamous prison.

Who was Kim Philby? His compatriots knew him as a trusted friend and an unwavering ally. Philby was a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counterintelligence against the Soviet Union. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the CIA’s head of counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton, and his best friend since childhood, Nicholas Elliot, on the front lines of the Cold War.&nbsp;
But Philby betrayed them all: He was secretly working for the Russians the entire time. Every word uttered in confidence to Philby by his colleagues in the West made its way to Moscow, leading countless missions to their doom and subverting American and British attempts to subdue the Soviet threat.

Marc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and software engineer. He is best known as the co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation, which developed the first widely-used web browser, Netscape Navigator.
Andreessen's career began in the early 1990s as a software engineer and developer. In 1993, he co-founded Netscape Communications Corporation with Jim Clark. The company developed the first widely-used web browser, Netscape Navigator, which played a significant role in popularizing the internet in the 1990s.
In 1999, Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz founded Loudcloud, a company that provided website infrastructure. The company later rebranded as Opsware and was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2007.
In 2009, Andreessen and Horowitz founded Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that invests in technology companies. The firm has invested in many successful technology companies like Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter.
In addition to his work in technology, Andreessen has been active in philanthropy and politics. He is a board member of the Markle Foundation, which focuses on using technology to address social and economic issues. He has also been a vocal advocate for the potential of the internet to drive economic growth and has been involved in efforts to promote technology education and entrepreneurship.
In addition to his venture capital role, Andreessen has been a Board member of several companies such as Facebook, eBay, and HP. He is also a regular contributor to publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He is considered to be a leading thinker in the technology industry.

Marc

Walter Isaacson

Malcolm Gladwell

Robert McCrum

In A Spy Among Friends, Ben Macintyre explores the power of friendship and how it can be used to manipulate and deceive. The book tells the story of Kim Philby, a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union, who used his friendships to betray his country. It's a reminder to be careful about who we trust.

The Power of Friendship

Macintyre's book gives us a deep look into the world of espionage during the Cold War. It's not just about secret missions and coded messages, but also about the psychological warfare, the manipulation, and the high stakes involved. If you're interested in spy stories, this book is a must-read.

A Spy Among Friends doesn't just tell the story of a spy, but also the impact of his betrayal on his friends and colleagues. The book shows how Philby's actions shattered the trust within the British intelligence community and caused lasting damage. It's a lesson on the far-reaching consequences of betrayal.

The Impact of Betrayal

One of the key takeaways from the book is the complexity of human nature. Philby, despite his betrayal, is not portrayed as a simple villain. He is a complex character with his own motivations and justifications. The book encourages us to look beyond the surface and understand the complexities of human behavior.

The Complexity of Human Nature

The book serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance in a world full of deception. Philby was able to deceive his friends and colleagues for years because they trusted him blindly. The book encourages us to always stay alert and question everything, even if it comes from a trusted source.

Discover the Best Books Written by Ben Macintyre

Best author’s book

The Spy and the Traitor

Written books

The Spy and the Traitor

A Spy Among Friends

Similar authors

Josh Waitzkin

Taylor Branch

Assata Shakur

Jung Chang

Ricardo Semler

Antonio García Martínez

Mindy Kaling

Lena Dunham

Henry Kissinger

Arianna Huffington

Erik Larson

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Robert A. Caro

Richard Branson

Chris Anderson

Edward Snowden

Books

Achievers

Topics

Libraries

Blog

About

Contact

Terms