The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success is
true to its title, flipping an entrenched view of success on its
ear. Author Megan McArdle argues for the value of failure, not
just in business but law enforcement, job hunting, even love.
Writers like to toss around the Samuel Beckett advice to “fail
better,” but what does that mean in practice?  McArdle, a
popular business blogger who landed her dream job (and her
husband!) through a series of missteps and adaptation to the
unexpected, talks to experts in multiple fields about failure in
theory, then illustrates with examples from current events and
her own life. When solar manufacturer Solyndra was tanking, no
one was able to admit defeat and pull the plug on federal
spending. Failure to heed the warning signs led to far worse
consequences for everyone involved.  An innovative probation
reform program in Honolulu shows how a failed system’s mistakes
can point toward a solution. People in the program are drug
tested and given the instruction to