James R. McNeal, J. Eric Smith

Crucibles (eBook, ePUB)

History's Most Formidable Rites of Passage

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

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.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Agate Publishing
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. Juni 2025
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781572848979
• Artikelnr.: 72260095

Autorenporträt

J. Eric Smith is a retired nonprofit executive and former Naval Supply Corps Officer who maintains a vibrant freelance writing and management consultant career from his home in Sedona, Arizona.

Inhaltsangabe

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