Book excerpt: In his introduction to this book on corporate strategy, Richard Whittington makes the point that the great number of published books on strategic management all cover much the same ground and present similar recipes for success, and few indulge in self-questioning. If it was really as easy as that, managers would only need to read a few books in order to ensure they never make mistakes. Reality, however, is that in the world of business many of the most well-accepted models of strategic action have met with spectacular failure.