In A Thousand Blunders, Frank Leonard looks at why the 'Road of a Thousand Wonders' failed to live up to the expectations forecast by company president Charles M. Hays and other senior managers. Not only was the railway built through a sparsely settled region, which generated little immediate traffic, but its economic difficulties were also compounded by the numerous mistakes made by managers at all levels: for example, their failure to respond adequately to labour shortages caused serious delays and prevented the company from proving Prince Rupert as an effective alternative harbour before World War I broke out. For this book, Frank Leonard had access to a wealth of original documents, among them the GTP legal department files, providing him with insights into the decisions that formed the basis for policies in townsites and on Indian reserves. A Thousand Blunders is a provocative account of one of the greatest failures in Canadian entrepreneurial history. Richly detailed and thoroughly documented, it makes an important contribution to the fields of railway and business history, as well as to the study of the history of northern British Columbia.

Delight in other people's errors never dates, and this little book, first published in 1893, is a fount of human folly and a joy to read. Its compiler, Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838-1917), was a distinguished librarian, bibliographer and scholar, and a prolific author on London history and the history of books. This publication displays his great sense of humour, and his effortless command of far-flung sources in the search for a good joke. Citing examples from historians to misguided schoolboys, as well as from everyday conversation, Wheatley looks at comic misprints, misunderstandings, and garbled English in foreign parts. However, the book also has a more serious contribution to make: the chapter on printed errata makes use of the earliest evidence of proof correction by authors, and the analysis of misprints in early printing shows how many variant readings in the works of Shakespeare came about.

Retelling the most spectacular cock-ups in military history, this graphic account has a great deal to say about the psychology of military incompetence and the reasons even the most well-oiled military machines inflict disaster upon themselves. Beginning in AD9 with the massacre of Varus and his legions in the Black Forest all the way up to present day conflict in Afghanistan it analyses why things go wrong on the battlefield and who is to blame.

A collection of comical errors, as funny a record of human folly as when it was first published in 1893.

A witty, fast-paced guide to eliminating those annoying and frustrating French bloopers Mixing genders, inverting subjects and objects, and trusting false cognates are just a few of the blunders English-speaking French-language learners commonly make. In Correct Your French Blunders, veteran French teacher Véronique Mazet identifies these and other common trouble spots and clearly explains the reasons behind them. You will discover how grammar patterns of French differ from those of English and why trying to translate word for word, structure for structure, from English, can lead to big trouble. You will learn to break bad habits and correct your mistakes while developing a much more natural feel for French language patterns with the help of: More than 1,000 highlighted examples of common blunders to avoid A free app available on iTunes for interactive practice for obliterating those blunders Numerous examples and practical exercises Quick-reference panels for checking correct tense forms A "Hall of Shame" compendium of bad errors to recognize and correct

"From ancient times to the Bay of Pigs and the Falklands War, military history has been marked as much by misjudgements and incompetence as by gallantry and glory. In this fascinating and entertaining collection, author Geoffrey Regan recounts some of the staggering stories of military blunder. His anecdotes encompass every aspect of warfare from the insanity of commanders to the provision of inadequate supplies."--Back cover.

Adolph Hitler lost WWII because of his blunders and the U.S. and its allies won WWII in spite of their blunders. Nearly a lifetime of research and study by a veteran of World War II reveals the major political and military errors and mistakes which caused the greatest catastrophe in world history, almost lost the struggle with the greatest evil the world has ever known, failed to end the conflict in a decisive victory for the survival of freedom and democracy, subjected the world to almost half a century of fear and turmoil in the Cold War, and wasted vast world resources on armaments while hundreds of millions of people suffered from hunger, illness and death. This analysis of the major issues and campaigns of World War II concentrates on what went wrong with the conduct of the war which needlessly prolonged its brutal end and reveals how narrow was the margin between victory and defeat.

The #1 New York Times bestseller, now in paperback The brutally honest breath of fresh air on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, known for her dramatic divorce, her barely there clothing, and her inability to keep her mouth shut, tells all in this hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir that's "the best piece of celeb literature we've ever come across." (LAWeekly.com) It's impossible not to love Brandi Glanville, the unapologetically filter-free breath of fresh air on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She spills all her secrets in this sassy, raunchy, and compulsively readable #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, dishing about everything from her DUI and her cheating ex to her one-night stands and the secret plastic surgery that made her "seventeen" again. Clear your schedule, grab a comfy seat, your favorite cocktail . . . and maybe a Xanax. #BestAfternoonEver.

What causes some marketing campaigns to go spectacularly wrong? Why might new product launches, publicity stunts or rebranding exercises be doomed to failure? How can you prevent a social media backlash spiralling out of control? When should you apologise, cut your losses, make a U-turn? Great Brand Blunders takes an informed and at times acerbic look at the worst marketing and social media disasters of all time - and treats them as an amazing learning opportunity. The first book for several years to examine brand failures - and the first with a special focus on social media - Great Brand Blunders offers a mix of entertaining commentary and authoritative advice, and features several first-hand interviews with those involved. A fascinating roll-call of over 150 A-list brands in sticky situations, the book will be required reading not only for professional marketers, academics and students, but for anyone interested in the gritty stories and testing challenges that lie behind the polished brand images marketers hope to present to the public. From awful advertising to ridiculous brand extensions, via misguided sales promotions and ill-conceived social media activity, Great Brand Blunders pulls no punches, putting rash decisions under the microscope and offering advice on how to avoid landing in the same foul mess yourself.