Prevail

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  “Brilliant work. Buy, read, share Prevail with friends, family, and colleagues.”

—Philip Zimbardo, Stanford University; President & Founder, Heroic Imagination Project

“Too often, life is about getting by, avoiding hardship and upheaval. That is a missed opportunity. In Prevail, Robert Klitgaard masterfully lays out the hero’s path to ordinary greatness by seeing all of life as a calling. We all need this book.”

—Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and New York Times bestselling author

“Presented very much from a Christian perspective, this excellent book actually reflects the wisdom of all the world’s great religions. It provides invaluable resources and wonderful inspiration.”

—Rabbi David Rosen, KSG CBE, International Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee

“Robert Klitgaard is one of those rare professors who harnesses rigorous academic inquiry to big human questions, making his writing both insightful and relevant. With each new work, Klitgaard journeys far beyond the status of academic intellectual to the role of wise teacher from whom we can all learn.’’ 

—Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, co-author of Built to Last

“When you’re feeling like life has gotten a bit off track, or when you just need to reenergize your pursuit of purpose in life, read this book. In inspiring us and guiding us to discover—or rediscover—our calling, it does precisely what it implores its readers to do; it prevails!”

—Kendall Cotton Bronk, Claremont Graduate University; author of Purpose in Life

“After reading Prevail, I feel delighted and enriched. For all of us who face pivotal, or even cyclical, transitions and crises in our lives, this book provides guidance and wisdom. It does so with a playful lightness of touch that refreshes rather than weighs you down—indeed, a rare achievement. Drawing from a lifetime of reading broadly and working respectfully with peoples around the world, Klitgaard’s synthesis is a blessing to us all.”

—Ronald Heyfitz, MD, Harvard Kennedy School; author of Leadership Without Easy Answers

“Prevail is a dynamic new way of thinking about how you can learn from the example of others to create your future self. It’s for anyone who has a calling or (like me) desperately wants one. If you want to stay on that path you’re on, the one characterized by mind-numbing patterns you can’t seem to escape, don’t bother to read this book. If you want to think in different ways, in ways that will help you prevail in business and in life, this is the book for you.”

—Donald E. Gibson, Dean, O’Malley School of Business, Manhattan College

“A great feature of this book is its exploration of romance and intimate partnerships. Klitgaard looks to the examples of heroic figures who deepened their love by developing a mutual calling, a big insight, gratitude, and a life of sharing and serving together. In my own marriage and as I’ve journeyed with clients, I’ve seen how this practice strengthens couples’ connection and results in a sustained experience of joy, passion, and human flourishing. Reading Klitgaard's exploration of intimate partnerships will deepen your romantic love.”

—Kimberly J. Miller, MTh, LMFT, therapist and author of Boundaries for Your Soul

“This is an extraordinary book. How can we lead better lives?  How can we recognize sources of meaning and potential growth, learn from them, and improve ourselves and the world?  Drawing on his own deep learning and academic expertise, and the personal insights of a lifetime, Bob Klitgaard sets out a brilliant framework of wisdom, experience, and understanding to help us on our way, by discovering and developing heroism in our own lives and in the lives of others.” 

—Jesse Norman, PhD, Member of Parliament of the UK and author of Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet and Adam Smith: Father of Economics

“As I face challenges big and small, I look forward to the nuggets of ideas and frameworks he provides to be some of my decision-making guideposts.”

—Barry H. Corey, President, Biola University

“Everyone is called to be a hero: this is the radical and transformative message of this book. Heroism is not only for a few extraordinary men and women, in extraordinary circumstances, performing extraordinary deeds. It is also for everyone else: ordinary people, with routine everyday tasks, marked out by the small, seemingly insignificant duties of everyday life and work. Prevail is a ‘must read’ for the highly cultured audience towards which it is pitched. But it is also a ‘must do’ for every ordinary person in the modern world. This book has been an awesome experience for me.”

—Jesus P. Estanislao, PhD, former Secretary of Finance, Republic of the Philippines; author of Breaking Through: The Road from Resolution to Results

“Prevail gives us practical advice on how to face life’s big challenges, based on the examples set by people who have lived lives that are full, not necessarily with accomplishments, but with service, gratitude, and intimacy.”

—Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University; author of Identity

“Bob Klitgaard, always a provocative thinker and teacher, has ventured into fascinating territory in this book. . . . Prevail offers glimpses of Klitgaard’s global adventures and his own wisdom, perhaps best summarized in the recurring phrase ‘both/and.’ But it offers above all an extraordinary exploration of deep personal challenges and insights that draw on an unparalleled array of perspectives and wisdom.” 

—Katherine Marshall, Georgetown University; author of Development and Faith: Where Mind, Heart, and Soul Work Together

“The spiritual lives of scientists are often as complex and nuanced as their science. When a scientist as accomplished as Bob Klitgaard offers his wisdom for how to live a full human life, it’s worth paying attention. Prevail does not disappoint. Klitgaard offers a meditation on how heroes of all kinds can help us discern our calling. He explains how heroes make sense of upheavals and life-changing choices to find their purpose between the extremes of asceticism and addiction—a practical, Christian-influenced, Buddhist-inspired middle path for living a full human life in a 21st century secular world. Prevail is a delightful and thought-provoking book wherever we are in our journey through life.”

—Michael Muthukrishna, London School of Economics and Political Science

“This insightful work from one of my favorite modern thinkers doesn’t just encourage readers to live lives of meaning and purpose by taking their cues from heroes, it empowers them to live such heroic lives. It’s spiritual without being preachy, instructive without feeling didactic, motivational without the mindless, vapid axioms—just like the author himself. Read this book and prepare to prevail.”

—Jeff Davenport, Principal of Lighthouse Point Communications; author of I Am a Field

“In overwhelming times when feelings of anxiety and inadequacy dominate, Robert Klitgaard invites us to consider a truly transformative response: the path of learning not just to cope but to prevail through choosing to discern and be grounded in our calling, insight, gratitude, and sharing and serving with compassion. I no sooner finished this deeply meaningful and thoughtfully written book than I began sharing its important themes and insights with others.”

—Rev. Charles W. Barker, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

“Ranging across disciplines and drawing on capacious learning, he examines possible responses, finds guidance in the heroic journey, and envisions a path for prevailing that calms and inspires.”

—Robert Skotheim, ex-President of Whitman College, Occidental College, and The Huntington

"This groundbreaking book is for everyone from school-going children trying to choose and prepare for their future life, to retirees wanting to better adapt and “prevail” peacefully. A Bhutanese reader will get to enjoy an extra thrill to know that this book was completed in Bhutan and that Bhutan is also mentioned in the book a few times. A must-read for Bhutanese when we are all in the midst of preparing ourselves to transform our country to a Developed Bhutan." 

--Dorji Dhradhul, Director General, Tourism Council of Bhutan and author of Escapades Awakenings