Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World
Author: Terry O’Reilly
Publisher: Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., hardcover, 292 pages, including: Introduction, Parts 1-5, Afterword, Acknowledgements, and Endnotes
Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
The Author
Terry O’Reilly, in addition to being an award-winning author and in-demand speaker; O’Reilly has hosted these CBC Radio programs: “O’Reilly on Advertising,” “The Age of Persuasion,” and “Under the Influence.”
Contents
This volume contains an Introduction and the following 5 Parts: Part 1: Entertainment, Part 2: Business & Industry, Part 3: Politics, Part 4: Science & Medicine, Part 5: Sports, (noticeably missing for this reviewer is Religion), Afterword, Acknowledgements, and Endnotes. Altogether, O’Reilly has written about 19 people who broke the rules and failed to accept the status quo in these 5 areas.
Brief Observations
Here is a glimpse of 5 people, 1 from each Part.
In entertainment, Norman Lear produced the popular sitcom “All in the Family.” The TV show threw “a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices and concerns. By making them a source of laughter we hope to show—in a mature fashion—just how absurd they are” (p. 45). It broke all the TV taboos and nearly gave actor Carroll O’Conner a nervous breakdown. Laughter added years to Lear’s life, he died at the age of 101.
Albert Lasker became a very wealthy person in the advertising industry. “Puffed Wheat. Puffed Rice. Palmolive Soap. All-weather tires. Sunkist oranges. Orange juice for breakfast. Kotex. And Kleenex” (p. 68). All of these became popular because of Lasker’s advertising skills. He built FCB, one of the greatest advertising agencies in the world by going against the grain.
In politics, Justin Trudeau went from third place to being elected Prime Minister in 2015. He did this by focussing on the positive, rather than the negative, like his opponents.
In science and medicine, Suzanne Simard had to fight against misogynists and the conventional scientific and government views about forests, and how trees are connected with each other. She opposed clear-cutting and proved trees do better when left alone. The seedlings of paper birch and Douglas fir are healthy and help each other. Trees planted by human beings after clear-cutting are less healthy and some even die.
In sports, the England soccer team thought they were superior to all other national teams for a long time. Then in 1953, the National Hungarian team used willpower and a shrewd grasp of the game to beat the English team 6-3.
For readers interested in “underdog rule-breakers” who succeed, read this volume.
