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Crucibles

History's Most Formidable Rites of Passage
Buch | Hardcover
264 Seiten
2025
Surrey Books,U.S. (Verlag)
978-1-57284-352-3 (ISBN)
CHF 38,35 inkl. MwSt
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An exploration of the initiation rituals of fourteen elite groups, both historical and contemporary, providing a roadmap for modern organizations to better themselves by implementing and managing their own rigorous portal processes.

Throughout human history, civilizations have stratified their citizens, often by establishing royal, priestly, executive, or warrior castes. Many who have achieved elite-level power joined their civilizations’ premier organizations not through birthright or sociopolitical attainment, but rather by completing codified rites of passage that demonstrated their exceptional physical, spiritual, or psychological capabilities, and their deep commitment to their cultures. 

Crucibles: History’s Most Formidable Rites of Passage explores fourteen elite organizations, with a special emphasis on the onerous trials designed to cull initiates from aspirants. It analyzes the underlying commonalities of such trials, describing how they work, why people are willing to subject themselves to such rigors, and how such tests benefit or harm the organizations that require them. 

Crucibles distills both positive and negative perspectives on tests and trials into actionable concepts which may be deployed in modern business, social, academic, or political spheres. In a time where there is a long-overdue focus on the ethical roles and responsibilities of cultural gatekeepers, Crucibles stands as a valuable resource for leaders and managers seeking to convert historic practices into useful, moral, and legal modern policies.

James R. McNeal is a retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Naval Supply Corps, currently serving as an adjunct leadership professor and Sprint football coach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

PROLOGUE: On Being a Plebe (Part One), Annapolis, Maryland, Summer of 1982

INTRODUCTION: Trials by Fire: The Roles of Crucibles in Defining Elite Groups and Cultures

CHAPTER ONE: We Make Marines: Boot Camp at M.C.R.D. Parris Island

CHAPTER TWO: Kung Fu and Koans: The Shaolin Monks

CHAPTER THREE: Space Is the Place: The U.S. Astronaut Program

CHAPTER FOUR: Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ: The Knights Templar

CHAPTER FIVE: Knives in the Mountains: The Gurkhas

CHAPTER SIX: Our Mothers: The Dahomey Amazons

CHAPTER SEVEN: Honor and Fidelity: The French Foreign Legion

CHAPTER EIGHT: Crouching Dragons and Divine Wind: Japan’s Special Attack Units

CHAPTER NINE: An Offer You Can’t Refuse: Mafia Made Men

CHAPTER TEN: Great Tiger Sharks Swimming on Land: The Hawai’ian Koa

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Fiercely and Faithfully: The Swiss Guard

CHAPTER TWELVE: Doctor, Doctor: The White Coat Ceremony and Beyond

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Poor Widow’s Sons: American Freemasonry

CONCLUSION: Elites Everywhere: Crucibles in Context

EPILOGUE: On Being a Plebe (Part Two), Annapolis, Maryland, Autumn of 1982 through Spring of 1983

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SOURCES AND RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL READING

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Erscheint lt. Verlag 24.7.2025
Zusatzinfo Illustrations
Verlagsort Chicago, IL
Sprache englisch
Maße 139 x 215 mm
Themenwelt Geschichte Teilgebiete der Geschichte Kulturgeschichte
Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie Volkskunde
Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie
Wirtschaft Betriebswirtschaft / Management Unternehmensführung / Management
ISBN-10 1-57284-352-7 / 1572843527
ISBN-13 978-1-57284-352-3 / 9781572843523
Zustand Neuware
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