About the Book

As a follow up to his phenomenal New York Times bestselling memoir, Highest Duty, Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger explores exactly what it takes to lead and inspire. In Making a Difference, one of the most captivating American heroes of this century--the courageous pilot who brought the crippled US Airways Flight 1549 safely down in New York's Hudson River--engages some of the most accomplished men and women in the fields of technology, medicine, education, sports, philanthropy, finance, law, and the military in inspiring conversations on true leadership. With powerful thoughts and invaluable guidance from such notables as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, legendary baseball manager Tony LaRussa, NASA Flight Director Eugene Kranz, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Making a Difference is a potential life-changer that stands with Katie Couric's The Best Advice I Ever Got, Lee Iaococca's Where Have All the Leaders Gone, Michael J. Fox's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, and other classic volumes that celebrate human achievement and triumph over adversity.

Book Synopsis

As a follow up to his phenomenal New York Times bestselling memoir, Highest Duty, Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger explores exactly what it takes to lead and inspire. In Making a Difference, one of the most captivating American heroes of this century--the courageous pilot who brought the crippled US Airways Flight 1549 safely down in New York's Hudson River--engages some of the most accomplished men and women in the fields of technology, medicine, education, sports, philanthropy, finance, law, and the military in inspiring conversations on true leadership. With powerful thoughts and invaluable guidance from such notables as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, legendary baseball manager Tony LaRussa, NASA Flight Director Eugene Kranz, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Making a Difference is a potential life-changer that stands with Katie Couric's The Best Advice I Ever Got, Lee Iaococca's Where Have All the Leaders Gone, Michael J. Fox's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, and other classic volumes that celebrate human achievement and triumph over adversity.

From the Back Cover

One of the most captivating heroes o f the last decade and the author o f the New York Times bestseller Highest Duty explores the nature o f leadership with some of America's best and brightest

At a time of political polarization and economic turmoil, we yearn for superior leadership. Few have demonstrated this trait better than Captain "Sully" Sullenberger. In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir, Sullenberger engages nearly a dozen distinguished Americans to explore the nature of leadership: what it means, what it takes, and how it can be fostered and developed in all of our lives. Sullenberger talks to men and women from many diverse fields, all of whom embody, in the truest sense, moral courage and leadership by personal example.

Among those included are: Tony La Russa, the legendary baseball manager; Gene Kranz, the NASA flight director during the historic Gemini and Apollo programs; Michelle Rhee, founder of the New Teacher Project; former governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm; Jim Sinegal, co-founder and CEO of Costco; Lieutenant Colonel Representative Tammy Duckworth, former assistant secretary with the Department of Veterans Affairs; Bill Bratton, former NYPD commissioner and LAPD chief; and former secretary of labor Robert Reich.

Review Quotes

"As demonstrated by the subtitle, [Sully has] been intent on using his newfound fame to promote his own code: Doing things well, doing them right, the way he did the day he used 'a lifetime of knowledge to find a way to safety, ' his written description of the feat of flying those 150 passengers to safety." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Sullenberger's account of gliding his crippled jetliner down safely onto the Hudson River is a wingdinger.... The tone is gently folksy first-person.... Sullenberger comes across as an honorable, courageous man." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Don't miss reading this on---Sully's story is great. His humbleness is noteworthy." - Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas)
"Sullenberger's all-American life story is so compelling that it screams to be required reading for all young people, or anybody else who needs confirmation that courage, dignity and extraordinary competence can still be found in this land.... [A] remarkable life story." - Washington Times
"Sullenberger has emerged as an appealingly modest, straightforward guy, a demeanor maintained here in his easygoing, no-frills account of his Texas boyhood, his early infatuation with flying, his years at the Air Force Academy, his peacetime military career and his experiences as a commercial pilot, where safety procedures became somewhat of a specialty.... Valuable for anyone interested in how a life lived with integrity prepares a man for the ultimate challenge." - Kirkus Reviews
"Rushed to print...books by unlikely heroes who hit the front page are always suspect. But as Sullenberger grows from a 5-year-old who wants to fly planes, to a fighter pilot, to a 57-year-old "gray-haired man with my hands on the controls of an Airbus A320 over Manhattan," it's clear there's a story here to tell.... Sullenberger speaks frankly of the toll the public spotlight has taken on his marriage, as well as the difficulties he and his family have endured throughout his commercial aviation career. Zaslow's contributions should not be overlooked; as with Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture, he invisibly assists Sullenberger in going beyond the moment that sparks readers' interest.... The result is as dramatic as it is inspirational." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"It's no big surprise that Sullenberger's book--a gripping and genuinely heartwarming account of the splashdown--manages to portray everyone involved as more heroic than himself.... Sullenberger's account of Flight 1549 is a Capra-esque ode to American competence and decency.... The book includes details that add a compelling new dimension to the tale." - Daily News (New York)