The Up Side of Down - by Megan McArdle (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Most new products fail. So do most businesses. And most of us, if we are honest, have experienced a major setback in our personal or professional lives. So what determines who will bounce back and follow up with a home run? What separates those who keep treading water from those who harness the lessons from their mistakes?

One of our most popular business bloggers, Megan McArdle takes insights from emergency room doctors, kindergarten teachers, bankruptcy judges, and venture capitalists to teach us how to reinvent ourselves in the face of failure. The Up Side of Down is a book that just might change the way you lead your life.

Review Quotes

"Clever, surprising, fast-paced, and enlightening . . . It's okay to fail, and . . . acknowledging failure, McArdle writes in her engrossing book, is a necessary first step in learning from it."
--Forbes

"A vivid example of how leaning in to low confidence--and the real and imagined failures it can bring about--can turn you around. . . . McArdle weaves together corporate case studies of triumphs and flops, core findings of behavioral economics, and her own bad luck in losing a succession of jobs during the Great Recession. . . . To get where you want to go, McArdle sagely notes, you must first give yourself 'permission to suck.' Seeing how this epiphany earns her a freer, failure-embracing growth mindset is like watching a flower unfold."
--Elle

"McArdle combines a shrewd knowledge of economics and practical experience with a writing style that every so often segues into comedy monologue. . . . Americans fail a lot, she argues. . . . But good judgment comes from experience. And experience comes from bad judgment--from failures. The key question is how you respond, whether you learn from failure and rebound."
--The Washington Examiner

"With great wit and self-effacing prose, McArdle relates the rocky road that defined her professional life and the nearly impossible task of finding a stable job. . . . These so-called failures would later yield important lessons and eventually lead to bigger and better things--including this very thought-provoking book on why it's important to fail. . . . The Up Side of Down reminds us that, although it's a tough pill to swallow, failure is a necessary evil in reaping the rewards of success."
--New York Journal of Books

"The Up Side of Down reveals a forgotten secret to success: failure. This gracefully written, carefully researched book offers a timely and critical message. In a world that's obsessed with perfection, Megan McArdle shows that our accomplishments depend on whether we can make mistakes and learn from them."
--Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of Give and Take

"This is a vibrant book on a vital subject. It's full of unexpected insights and is a pleasure to read."
--Tim Harford, author of Adapt and The Undercover Economist

"Megan McArdle has written the seminal book about renewal and American greatness: The Up Side of Down will teach you to embrace failure and use it to reinvent yourself and your organization."
--Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist and The Great Stagnation, co-creator of the economics blog Marginal Revolution

About the Author