A bold new theory of leadership drawn from elite captains throughout sports—named one of the best business books of the year by CNBC, The New York Times, Forbes, strategy+business, The Globe and Mail, and Sports Illustrated “The book taught me that there’s no cookie-cutter way to lead. Leading is not just what Hollywood tells you. It’s not the big pregame speech. It’s how you carry yourself every day, how you treat the people around you, who you are as a person.”—Mitchell Trubisky, quarterback, Chicago Bears Now featuring analysis of the five-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and their captain, Tom Brady The seventeen most dominant teams in sports history had one thing in common: Each employed the same type of captain—a singular leader with an unconventional set of skills and tendencies. Drawing on original interviews with athletes, general managers, coaches, and team-building experts, Sam Walker identifies the seven core qualities of the Captain Class—from extreme doggedness and emotional control to tactical aggression and the courage to stand apart. Told through riveting accounts of pressure-soaked moments in sports history, The Captain Class will challenge your assumptions of what inspired leadership looks like. Praise for The Captain Class “Wildly entertaining and thought-provoking . . . makes you reexamine long-held beliefs about leadership and the glue that binds winning teams together.”—Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, Chicago Cubs “If you care about leadership, talent development, or the art of competition, you need to read this immediately.”—Daniel Coyle, author of The Culture Code “The insights in this book are tremendous.”—Bob Myers, general manager, Golden State Warriors “An awesome book . . . I find myself relating a lot to its portrayal of the out-of the-norm leader.”—Carli Lloyd, co-captain, U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team “A great read . . . Sam Walker used data and a systems approach to reach some original and unconventional conclusions about the kinds of leaders that foster enduring success. Most business and leadership books lapse into clichés. This one is fresh.”—Jeff Immelt, chairman and former CEO, General Electric “I can’t tell you how much I loved The Captain Class. It identifies something many people who’ve been around successful teams have felt but were never able to articulate. It has deeply affected my thoughts around how we build our culture.”—Derek Falvey, chief baseball officer, Minnesota Twins

A young boy’s adventure of serving on a merchant ship in the mid 1600’s begins only by chance when he must leave London at 12 years old and move to his grandfather’s house near the sea. These changes open an entirely new life for him where there is world travel, excitement, and a pathway to success. The adventures take him to lands he had barely begun to study in school yet once exposed he knew very soon that this would be the life for him. An amazing life where an opportunity presented itself and even at 12 years of age, he recognized it as something exciting, new, yet challenging, lonely at times, and frightening at times yet he able transcend his fears and excel. His will to perform every job to the best of his ability along with his insatiable thirst for learning allows him recognition at the highest level. This quest provides for further opportunity as it leads to a serendipitous meeting that changes his life even more. This book and its stories were created through my dreams where the question that begs for an answer “what would I have been if I lived in 1650”? With multiple dreams spawning this story, the next question to be answered is “Are these dreams just a collection of stories I have read or seen or if this of my actual past?”. Regardless of the answer, the adventures were all that a growing boy could dream about living in places he had never been in a time he had never known.

It was more than an incident. It was a deadly assault across the 38th parallel. It was the Korean War. In the fear and frenzy of battle, those who had served with heroism before were called again by America to man the trenches and sandbag bunkers. From Pusan to the Yalu, they drove forward with commands too new and tanks too old: brothers in war, bonded together in battle as they had never been in peace...

Meena is a young lady on the verge of adulthood, like her friends she dreams of living life to its fullest. But she is also the Princess, sole heir to her father's kingdom. Her best and oldest friend, Holasiyan, has grown up with her in the Saffron Palace. Under the eyes of all around them their friendship blossoms into something far greater. Yet he is destined to take his place amongst the king's fighting elite as generations of his family have done. Already an exceptional warrior, no one doubts that one day soon he will become their captain. When dark forces emerge and threaten Meena's life, Holasiyan sacrifices himself, standing in harm's way to protect his beloved. His selfless actions lead to a cascade of events unfolding. New friendships take shape, old alliances reform. Forgotten grievances re-emerge, with the revelation of a dark secret and an oath sworn under duress.