Why Recreate the Wheel: New Book Showcases History’s Lessons About Navigating Crises
Conflict and chaos may be inevitable, but Matt Charles, author and director of the Brian Lamb School of Communication’s online graduate programs, is convinced that everyone has a choice in how they navigate crises.
His newest book, “Crisis: A Global History,” explores the lessons we can glean from nine types of crises that are repeated throughout recorded human history. Released August 2025 by Kendall Hunt Publishing, “Crisis: A Global History,” is the result of Charles’ Sisyphean task to persuade people to communicate with more wisdom.
“Communication is more important than ever because we are really a global society,” Charles said. “We really don’t have the luxury of misunderstanding what somebody’s saying.”
Good communication can bridge the gaps between ideological, cultural and socioeconomic differences, Charles said. It is especially powerful during a crisis.
Following this theme, Charles presents nine crisis case studies: conflict, disease, economic, environmental, famine, natural, organizational/reputational, social justice and technological.
“Crisis has followed people throughout history,” Charles said. “What have humans done? How have they responded? If they responded in a way that didn’t work, why? What’s really the slipping up point? Is it leadership?”
“I find that a lot of it is just leadership,” Charles said. “It comes down to either really good or really bad leadership. You can also have leadership that is situational – might do great in one area, but not so great in another. Herbert Hoover is a great example of this.”
Hoover is best known for his failed economic policies while serving as the U.S. president during the Great Depression. Less well known are his efforts in providing food and aid to domestic and foreign survivors of war and natural disasters.
“Everybody knows him with the Depression, leading as one of our least popular presidents,” Charles said. “But a lot of people don’t know that that guy saved millions of lives overseas during World War I with his humanitarian efforts with feeding people.”
As Charles points out, crises are not a new phenomenon.
“We have all dealt with this all the way back to prehistoric times,” Charles said, “There’s even a couple of cases I have (in the book) like cave paintings where people are trying to communicate things such as a famine or conflict. But we work through it the best we can.”
Charles has seen the best and the worst of crisis communications. Early in his police career, he worked as a special investigator for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, where he liaised with the New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Unit. As he investigated high-profile drug and sex crimes involving children, he was presented the opportunity to work with the local media. His supervisors noticed and crisis communications became one of his roles.
Since then, he has helped organizations like UVA navigate unexpected turmoil. While a public spokesman for UVA, his challenges included the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. The violence from the surrounding neighborhood spread onto the UVA campus after torch-carrying white nationalists marched through the campus and clashed with counter-protestors. He was also part of the university’s response team after the 2017 death of Otto Warmbier, a UVA student who was detained in North Korea. Warmbier succumbed to the injuries suffered during his 17-month captivity shortly after returning to the U.S.
He has also led strategic and crisis communication training for the U.S. State Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency and National Criminal Justice Command College.
Charles joined Purdue in 2016 as an online communications instructor, eventually becoming head of online graduate programs in 2024.
He said he believes everyone can benefit from learning how to communicate more effectively. He recommends exploring resources that focus on strategic, persuasive and crisis communications.
His book, for example, explores the positive and negative ways people responded to the monumental moments they experienced and the consequences of their reactions. Charles said he hoped his readers would look at those situations and apply the principles covered to their personal lives.
“The key is just to really try to learn from the past,” Charles said. “Don’t slip up on the same mistakes. Even if it feels like something that may not be close to the crisis you’re dealing with, there generally are going to be some nuggets or tidbits you can learn from and can apply to it.”
Interested in improving your strategic, persuasive or crisis communications skills? Purdue’s online Graduate Certificate in Communication and Leadership offers several courses designed to help professionals master communication in high-stakes situations. The online Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication Management program equips students with skills such as strategic planning, crisis communication, global engagement and campaign evaluation. Learn more at the programs’ webpages.