Sam Walker

Sam Walker is an author, historian and strategic advisor. He is the author of The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the Worlds Greatest Teams, a New York Times bestseller praised as “a fascinating look at how some of the greatest sports teams of all time were built” by the Wall Street Journal. He is also the author of Fantasyland: How America went Haywire: A 500-Year History, a New York Times and national bestselling book about the roots of America’s fractious political culture.

Walker’s work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New Atlantic.

Walker has long been fascinated with the idea of leadership and performance in sports. In The Captain Class, a book he spent almost a decade researching, Walker looks at the history of the greatest teams in sports, such as the New England Patriots, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls, to identify the common characteristics of their most successful seasons. According to Walker, the key is that all of these teams shared one thing in common—a captain. Walker asserts that a captain’s leadership has the power to “unlock a team’s full potential, and their impact extended far beyond the field or court.”

In Fantasyland, Walker takes readers even further back into the past to explore the history of America—from colonial times to the present—to explain why the nation has become increasingly politically divided and extreme. Walker examines several key events in American history, including the Salem Witch Trials, the Civil War, and the late 19th century when America’s populist passions began to flare. Walker posits that Americans have, from the very beginning, believed in the idea that all opinions have equal validity and should be given the same consideration and respect no matter which facts support them. This belief is at the heart of America’s current political divide, Walker argues, and only by understanding its roots can people move beyond the divisiveness to create a better society.

Walker holds a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, is a faculty member at NYU Stern's Sports Business Certificate Program, and is a strategic advisor. He has consulted with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and Premier League.

Walker’s work has earned him numerous accolades and awards. His book The Captain Class was the winner of the 2017 Financial Times – McKinsey Business Book of the Year, and in 2018 he was named one of Sports Business Journal’s ‘40 Under 40’ individuals in the sports industry.

Sam Walker is an acclaimed author, historian, and strategic adviser whose thought-provoking books have won him fans across the globe. His book The Captain Class examines the leadership traits of some of the world’s greatest sports teams, while in Fantasyland he investigates the cultural factors that have created the increasingly divided America of today. With a knack for connecting the past with the present and a natural ability to provide prescient advice to his clients, Walker’s work has influenced individuals and teams alike, with his accolades to prove it.