Win at Losing

October 10, 2016
Believing that people often benefit more from their defeats than from their victories, sports journalist Weinman, in his first book, interviews celebrated sports figures, prominent politicians, and entrepreneurs on the subject of managing setbacks and failures. The author wants his readers to know that learning from our past mistakes can help ease the pain of perceived failure. Chapter headings such as “Good Things Come out of Chaos” and “A Masters in Humility” capture his approach. Weinman engages his readers with a light, humorous tone while sharing stories from the likes of soap opera actress Susan Lucci and former presidential nominee Michael Dukakis about managing setbacks and emerging winners. By the author’s own admission, he is a sports fanatic, which explains the scores of sports references. This is great news for the sports enthusiasts; others will wish Weinman had used more restraint. Throughout the inspiring accounts of failure and loss are brief summaries of terms such as fixed mind-sets, résumé virtues, and eulogy virtues. Readers (especially sports fans) interested in the subject of failure will enjoy this thought-provoking analysis of beneficial losses. Agent: David McCormick, McCormick Literary.