Leadership

Lessons from the Presidents for Turbulent Times

496 pages

English language

Published Aug. 26, 2019 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-241-30072-5
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5 stars (1 review)

In this culmination of five decades of acclaimed studies in presidential history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin offers an illuminating exploration into the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership.

Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the man make the times or do the times make the man?

In Leadership in Turbulent Times, Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.

No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon adversity. At their best, all four were guided by a …

9 editions

A Look at the Human Side of Presidential Leadership

5 stars

Goodwin picks threads of similarity between all four leaders - origins, slumps, and victories - and uses her intimate knowledge of these figures to draw parallels between their situations. She draws on outside research on leadership traits and highlights those traits in practice through each of these stories.

There is a huge amount of US history here, relatable stories, and guidance on how to navigate leadership challenges. Wonderful work by one of America's foremost historians.

Subjects

  • Leadership
  • Presidents, united states
  • United states, politics and government
  • Political leadership
  • Lincoln, abraham, 1809-1865
  • Roosevelt, theodore, 1858-1919
  • Roosevelt, franklin d. (franklin delano), 1882-1945
  • Johnson, lyndon b. (lyndon baines), 1908-1973
  • Crisis management