What causes one system to break down and another to rebound? Are we merely subject to the whim of forces beyond our control? Or, in the face of constant disruption, can we build better shock absorbers--for ourselves, our communities, our economies, and for the planet as a whole?
Reporting firsthand from the coral reefs of Palau to the back streets of Palestine, Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy relate breakthrough scientific discoveries, pioneering social and ecological innovations, and important new approaches to constructing a more resilient world. Zolli and Healy show how this new concept of resilience is a powerful lens through which we can assess major issues afresh: from business planning to social develop-ment, from urban planning to national energy security--circumstances that affect us all.
Provocative, optimistic, and eye-opening, Resilience sheds light on why some systems, people, and communities fall apart in the face of disruption and, ultimately, how they can learn to bounce back.

All systems break down. Some bounce back, others do not. This is a book about why. RESILIENCE is a book about how the world works. It covers business, economic, geographic and social systems in a thrillingly readable narrative. A wealth of absorbing examples are covered, from the link between US oil prices and the recent 'tortilla riots' in Mexico to what was really happening when the US government decided not to bail out Lehman Bros. RESILIENCE introduces completely new ideas, such as 'flipping' which is when a systems has been pulled out of shape so often it changes forever. The thinking in RESILIENCE has crucial implications for how to understand the world in which we live.