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Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings
  • Published: 17 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9780241537466
  • Imprint: Allen Lane
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $59.99

Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings

(When) Do Leaders Make a Difference?

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
1 Sept 2026
Hardback
17 Oct 2026
EBook
17 Sept 2026
Audiobook
17 Sept 2026
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From the bestselling author of Guns, Germs and Steel, an exploration of the influence of leaders in politics, business, sport and religion

We often read history as the biographies of ‘great men’ who shaped the world. But are leaders, whichever field they are in, really that influential? Should CEOs be given large bonuses when a company performs well? Why, when a political leader is assassinated, is their successor as likely to improve as damage a country? When do we know if firing a coach has changed the fortunes of the team?

World-renowned historian and bestselling author Jared Diamond argues that leaders are neither heroic exceptions nor products of circumstance. Looking at four difference spheres: history, business, sport and religion, Diamond asks under which conditions is a leader most likely to make a difference and why.

Drawing on the life and career of iconic leaders – from Botswana president Seretse Khama to legendary UCLA football coach John Wooden – Diamond shows us how leadership effectiveness is determined by a range of complex interrelated factors, from resources to geography, culture to technology.

Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings is a thought-provoking assessment of when leaders can bring about effective change, when they don’t, and perhaps whether we need them at all.
  • Published: 17 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9780241537466
  • Imprint: Allen Lane
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $59.99

Also by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs and Steel
Collapse
The Last Tree on Easter Island
Upheaval
The World Until Yesterday
Guns, Germs, and Steel
The Rise And Fall Of The Third Chimpanzee
See all

Praise for Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings

Praise for Jared Diamond

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An undisputed global star of comparative history

Andrew Marr, The Times

One of the few people who have changed the way we see human nature and our history

Independent

Wears the mantle of a modern-day prophet

Guardian

One of the most interesting and arresting writers of our age

Mail on Sunday

The most considered, courageous and sensitive teller of the human story writing today

Independent on Sunday

A master of at least nine academic disciplines, from anthropology to ornithology, and the subject of his books is never less than everything

Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times

Jared Diamond's erudite, engaging and thought-provoking book takes us a huge step forward toward understanding how circumstances and individual talents, determination and strategy make leaders that have the potential to change our world (hopefully for the better)

Daron Acemoglu, Nobel Laureate and co-author of <i> Why Nations Fail </i>

We live in turbulent times, and our societies look to exceptional individuals to navigate us out of crisis. But do leaders matter? And, if yes, what determines a leader’s success? A must-read from the grand master of analytic history

Peter Turchin, author of <i> End Times </i>