Wait, What?: And Life's Other Essential Questions

New York Times Bestseller

“What, What? is a welcome—and joyful—reminder that true wisdom comes from asking the right questions. Should you read this book? Absolutely.”

 —Clayton Christensen, bestselling author of How Will You Measure Your Life?

Based on the wildly popular commencement address, the art of asking (and answering) good questions by the former Dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and former University of Virginia President.

Whether we’re in the boardroom or the classroom, we spend far too much time and energy looking for the right answer. But the truth is that questions are just as important as answers, often more so. If you ask the wrong question, for instance, you’re guaranteed to get the wrong answer. A good question, on the other hand, inspires a good answer and, in the process, invites deeper understanding and more meaningful connections between people. Asking a good question requires us to move beyond what we think we know about an issue or a person to explore the difficult and the unknown, the awkward, and even the unpleasant.

In Wait, What?, Jim Ryan, dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, celebrates the art of asking—and answering—good questions. Five questions in particular: Wait, what?; I wonder…? Couldn’t we at least…?; How can I help?; and What truly matters? Using examples from politics, history, popular culture, and social movements, as well as his own personal life, Ryan demonstrates how these essential inquiries generate understanding, spark curiosity, initiate progress, fortify relationships, and draw our attention to the important things in life—from the Supreme Court to Fenway Park. By regularly asking these five essential questions, Ryan promises, we will be better able to answer life’s most important question: “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?” At once hilarious and illuminating, poignant and surprising, Wait, What? is an inspiring book of wisdom that will forever change the way you think about questions.

James E. Ryan has served as the president of the University of Virginia, the dean of the Harvard Graduate Education School, and as a law professor. An expert on law and education, Ryan graduated summa cum laude from Yale and was first in his class at the University of Virginia Law School. He clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist and has also argued before the Supreme Court. He is the author of Five Miles Away, A World Apart and the New York Times bestseller Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions, based on his viral Harvard Commencement speech. A life-long athlete, Ryan played rugby in college and recently completed his 15th consecutive Boston Marathon. Ryan and his wife, Katie, who was a classmate at the University of Virginia Law School, have four grown children―Will, Sam, Ben, and Phebe.