There has been no more beloved liner than the Queen Elizabeth 2. The last liner to be built on British soil, she was constructed by John Brown & Co., Clydebank (Scotland) and her keel was laid on July 5, 1965, marking the start of her illustrious career. Her maiden voyage left Southampton on May 2, 1969, bound for New York, and she has remained in service for the past 40 years. She had a spell as a military ship from 1982, when she was requisitioned to serve as a troop carrier during the Falklands War, and during her military career QE2 successfully sailed more than 14,900 miles. Post-war, she has had many refits, including a headline-grabbing total refurbishment in 1994 to turn her into a 21st-century luxury liner. In November 2008, QE2 retired to a new life in Dubai World, where she began her conversion to a floating hotel, and the last chapter of her exceptional life in service will close.

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

Wearing the C insignia on the uniforma badge of honor reserved for team captainsis professional hockey's highest honor, and this study discusses how many of the NHL's all-time greatest players were captains. This exciting new bookan entertaining and enlightening blend of hockey stories and leadership lessonsreveals the secrets of hockey's greatest captains by asking questions such as What does it take to lead a team to championship? What are the keys to overcoming unexpected adversity? and How does a captain manage strong egos from diverse backgrounds into a unified, focused team? To get the inside story, author Ross Bernstein interviewed more than 100 of the all-time greatest captains, assistant captains, and head coaches, including Wayne Gretzky, Scotty Bowman, Phil Esposito, and Joe Sakic. An ideal book for any hockey fan, this work recounts some of the greatest moments in NHL history.