As a child growing up in Normal, Illinois, Jean Case watched her single mother raise four children, her German immigrant grandparents run a small hotel, and astronauts land on the moon. This trifecta helped her develop a knack for risk-taking: whether it was hopping on board with an Internet start-up called America Online or cutting her losses on a failing venture. In her new book, Be Fearless, Case, who’s the chairman of National Geographic Society, profiles normal people who made a difference in the world as a framework for those wanting to follow their path.

Certainly the story of America can’t be told without a nod to the contribution of immigrants from all over the