Like the bestsellers Blink and Freakonomics, this lively narrative is a fresh view of the world, explaining the previously inexplicable and revealing hidden influences on human decision-making. A Harvard Business School student pays over $200 for a $20 bill. Washington, DC, commuters ignore a free subway concert by a violin prodigy. A veteran airline pilot attempts to take off without control tower clearance and collides with another plane on the...

"If you cut off a spider's head, it dies; if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top-down organizations are like spiders, but now starfish organizations are changing the face of business and the world. What's the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women's rights...