FOCUS: Duluth resident pens Tiny Blunders, Big Disasters

(Editor’s note: The author, a native of Tucson, Ariz., has lived in Duluth since 1996 and is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees.  He was an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam and spent a career in consumer sales and the  home improvement industry.) 

By Jared Knott

DULUTH, Ga.  |  The book I have authored, Tiny Blunders Big Disasters (Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed The World Forever) draws its inspiration from an old adage that is found in Poor Richard’s Almanac. Benjamin Franklin made an old saying famous as follows:

“For want of the nail the shoe was lost, for want of the shoe the rider was lost, for want of the rider the battle was lost, for want of the battle the empire was lost. The empire was lost all for the want of a nail.”    

Knott

That made me wonder: “That is a nice old saying, but how often does that really happen that a single tiny mistake causes an entire empire to collapse?” Asking that question was like opening the door to a secret treasure house that had never been opened before. Research and recall led to one example after another of mistakes that seemingly – at the time- did not appear to be important, but which led to complete catastrophe!

In the book, I tell people that my mind is a “trash bin of trivia.” So many of the examples in the book come from books and articles that I had read over the years.   

Below are several teaser samples from the book.

1. A single piece of tape rotated several inches the wrong direction changed the outcome of the Vietnam War. The U.S. might very well have won except for this single tiny mistake!
2. One single document poorly designed by one single clerk in one single county changed the outcome of a presidential election and led directly to a major war. The war would not have taken place except for this single tiny mistake.
3. A single device just several inches long failed to function. This prolonged  World War II by over a year and led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
4. A soldier accidentally kicks a helmet off the top of a wall which caused an entire empire to collapse!  Yes really. No exaggeration.
5. Here is a refreshingly positive example to clear the air:  One general stubbornly stood up to his superiors in opposing an operation that he considered to be hare-brained and ill-advised. At serious risk to his career, he finally managed to have the airborne assault canceled at literally the last minute. This story, again, shows that truth is indeed stranger than fiction! 

 There are many other examples in the book. Visit the website tinyblundersbig disasters.com. There you will find two and a half chapters, two book trailers and a portrait gallery featuring 27 personalities.

Tiny Blunders Big Disasters has won six national and regional awards along with positive reviews including one in the Mensa Bulletin. It has received over 2,100 reviews on the Amazon website. 

The book has been number one on the Amazon bestseller lists for over 21 months. It is like my readers and I are sharing something very special together.