The Cost Of Being Almost Right: How Small Errors Triggered History's Most Expensive Failures

By J Wells

History's most expensive failures rarely begin with obvious mistakes.
They begin with decisions that are almost right.
The Cost of Being Almost Right examines real, documented cases where small miscalculations, flawed assumptions, and quiet decisions led to catastrophic outcomes. In these moments, systems appeared stable, experts trusted their models, and the margins felt safe.
The failures in this book are not caused by recklessness or ignorance. They emerge from confidence. Numbers that seem close enough. Assumptions inherited from earlier success. Procedures followed correctly under conditions that had quietly changed.
Drawing from engineering, technology, infrastructure, and institutional decision-making, this book reveals how complex systems punish approximation, and why being nearly correct can be far more dangerous than being clearly wrong.
If you are interested in real history, systemic failure, and the hidden cost of trusting what almost works, this book offers a clear and unsettling perspective.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G8H2WYF7
• ISBN13: 9798261859598
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"