Forbes To The Limits: Pushing Yourself to the Edge--in Adventure and in Business - Hardcover

Clash, James M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471210935 ISBN 13: 9780471210931

Publisher: Wiley, 2003

Synopsis

Following modern executives as they push themselves to the limits in life and in business

In To the Limits, adventure writer Jim Clash examines the phenomenon of corporate leaders and millionaires who test their limits through high-end, risky adventure-and links the life and business lessons they have learned along the way. Based on his popular column in Forbes, Clash details his own exotic adventures and includes anecdotes from high-profile, daredevil executives who share his passion for adventure-from flying to the edge of space 84,000 feet up (Dennis Tito, Chief Executive of Wilshire Associates), to climbing 20,000-foot mountain peaks (Timothy Forbes, Chief Operating Officer of Forbes, Inc.), to racing open-wheel cars (Mark Patterson, Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston), to swimming at the North Pole (Geoffrey Kent, Chief Executive of Abercrombie & Kent). Clash's dramatic narrative also explores the powerful connection between extreme success in business and in life, and covers topics such as risk-taking, testing personal limits, and dealing with decision-making responsibilities.

James M. Clash (New York, NY) covers mutual funds for Forbes magazine and writes a popular column called "The Adventurer" for Forbes Global. An avid wilderness enthusiast, he is a Fellow in the Explorers Club who has undertaken a number of unforgettable challenges-he has climbed the Matterhorn, ridden in a MiG jet fighter at two-and-a-half-times the speed of sound, driven Indy cars at upwards of 180 mph, climbed virgin mountains in Antarctica, and has visited the North Pole twice. Clash has also interviewed legendary adventurers such as Buzz Aldrin, Sir Roger Bannister, Sir Edmund Hillary, and four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears-all of whom are included in this book.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"Jim Clash has compiled from his own experiences and interviews with others a very stimulating and inspiring potpourri of people, places, and performances that give a clarion call to adventurous action. To participate is to live–while spectators only exist–and Jim’s book exemplifies this perspective grandly."
–Dick Bass, owner of Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort and first to climb the Seven Summits

What does climbing a mountain tell you about running a business? Can driving a race car at 200 m.p.h. prepare you to launch an entrepreneurial venture? Why do so many of the world’s most successful business leaders seek the thrills of physical adventure?

In To the Limits, Forbes adventure writer Jim Clash tells rousing stories of adventures with high-profile, daredevil executives as they push themselves to the limits of physical and mental endurance. In the face of extreme challenge, these proven winners display many of the same qualities of character that account for their success in business: willingness to take risks, absolute self-reliance, and the ability to make tough decisions under pressure.

Clash takes you to the North Pole with Martinn Mandles, Chairman of ABM Industries, climbing the Matterhorn with Forbes, Inc. COO Timothy Forbes, and racing cigarette boats with Clinton Group hedge fund manager George Hall. He straps into the cockpit of a MiG-25 jet fighter and streaks off at Mach 2.6 to explore the fringes of outer space, tramps the Namibian desert with Geoffrey Kent, founder of Abercrombie & Kent, to climb the world’s tallest sand dune, and follows Genova Products chairman Robert Williams 12,500 feet beneath the north Atlantic to explore the remains of the Titanic.

Clash also details the many commercial expeditions available to the daring would-be adventurer, from climbing Mt. Everest to racing Lamborghinis, and asks why high adventure has become so popular among business executives. Does overcoming a life-or-death challenge provide a deeper level of satisfaction than can be found in the day-to-day challenges of the business world? Find out as To the Limits takes you on an unforgettable journey to the very edge of physical endurance while celebrating the spirit of adventure in all of us.

From the Back Cover

Praise for TO THE LIMITS

"Jim Clash not only has the guts to drive an Indy race car at 200 m.p.h., but the skills as a writer to let us know what it feels like."
–Mario Andretti, Indy 500 winner and Formula One World Driving Champion

"If Jim Clash wrote fiction, he would be the modern-day equivalent of Ernest Hemingway. In To the Limits, he combines a powerful, understated style with the soul of a risk-taker to show, not tell, us what it’s like to climb the Matterhorn, drive at 200 m.p.h., reach the North Pole. The people he profiles–Hillary, Bannister, Teller, Aldrin–read like a who’s-who of twentieth-century adventurers. A must-read for anyone who loves adventure, history–and the business behind it."
–Kitty Pilgrim, CNN correspondent

"What permeates this book is a spirit to push the envelope, both by the author and the adventurers and businessmen he profiles. We need more of that in the twenty-first century, especially as we pioneer space tourism."
–Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut and founder of ShareSpace

"This book not only chronicles some of the great adventures and adventurers of modern time, but does it in a way that rings true. There’s no gushy fluff here. Clash gets it–he understands what real adventure is, and what it is not."
–Tommy Moe, 1994 Olympic Downhill Champion and ski ambassador to Jackson Hole

"Great challenges often inspire people to exceed their own perceived limits and, by doing so, expand their own horizons and perhaps inspire others by example. Jim Clash has given us a wonderful collection of such challenges, revealing the miracle of the human spirit."
–Lawrence Huntington, mountaineer and former chairman, Fiduciary Trust International

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0471210935
• ISBN 13: 9780471210931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 280