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Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Leadership in turbulent times. Simon & Schuster, 2018.
In Leadership in Turbulent Times, Doris Kearns Goodwin sheds light on leadership by analyzing the lives and careers of four US presidents that she has written about previously: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. If a reader is unfamiliar with the histories of these men, Goodwin’s book provides a pithy introduction and enough information – as well as a solid bibliography – to pique an interest and provide for further study.
By comparing their formative years, their early adult experiences with hardship and failure that formed them as leaders, and their years in the presidency when their skills were put to the test, Goodwin presents detailed case studies in successful leadership. She emphasizes that their ultimate success did not come cheaply or easily. Creating case studies based on historical figures was a refreshing read in contrast to the contemporary focus of many leadership titles.
Goodwin not only writes engagingly about the life of each president, she also makes leadership a topic of interest. Each president is presented as an example of a leadership style that was needed in his moment of history. Goodwin then parses out the unique characteristics of each of these leadership styles and weaves them into the stories of these men. She presents each man as the best leader needed for that exact moment in history in which they lived. Mythologizing these men in this way was one of the few weaknesses of the book.
It was difficult to not make comparisons to current political figures in leadership roles while reading this book. However, one can presume that Goodwin is not offering an oblique critique of current times, but simply case studies on great leadership. Given Goodwin’s long and deep research and writing about these particular presidents and her career as a historian, she could be expected to have a longer perspective, aiming her work more broadly at readers in a future beyond our turbulent times.
Leadership in Turbulent Times is a highly readable collection of case studies on leadership with four presidents, their times, and their success as leaders as its focus. Highly recommended.
Also available on OverDrive as an ebook and audiobook.
© Julianna Harris & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.
Every year, the Wall Street Journal asks writers, academics, business owners, athletes, politicians and assorted interesting people for their recommendations for the best books of the year. Here’s what the contributors said for 2018:
George P. Shultz, cabinet member for four US presidents and Hoover Institute distinguished fellow, recommends Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership: In Turbulent Times. “Ms. Goodwin provides insights into the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson as she describes their early lives, career paths and presidencies. In the process, we learn how these leaders coped with daunting challenges. The role of adversity in shaping character is a recurring theme.” Common traits in these presidents reveal what it takes to become a leader.
Co-founder of Home Depot and author of I Love Capitalism! Ken Langone recommends the expose Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by WSJ reporter John Carreyrou. Bad Blood is “about the biotech company Theranos and its ambitious but flawed founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who almost pulled off the greatest scam in Silicon Valley history. Most fascinating is Mr. Carreyrou’s description of his own quest to expose the truth to the public, aided by brave whistleblowers who couldn’t abide the company’s deceptions.”
Patricia O’Toole, author of The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made, recommends two books about the radical right’s use of campaign funding to ultimately change public policy and concentrate power in the hands of a few wealthy families. “The acute inflammation of the American body politic prompted close readings of Jane Mayer’s Dark Money and Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains.”
Ohio congressman Tim Ryan regards the recent loss of 14,000 jobs in Ohio and Michigan as “the epitome of a broken economic and political system. Monica Sharma’s Radical Transformational Leadership offers a new perspective on how our country’s leaders can change the dynamic. Leaders, she instructs, need to lead with compassion, fairness, and a sense of dignity for all those involved. She explores how to become a catalyst for change in a world that is constantly fighting against itself.”
Wesley Yang, author of The Souls of Yellow Folk, appreciates Michael Lewis’s work, especially his latest book, The Fifth Risk. “Mr. Lewis sidesteps the cycle of hysteria and outrage that feeds the Trump reality show by focusing on the work of the enormous public entity – the U.S. federal government – that Donald Trump was elected to run. Mr. Lewis conveys how important the work of the government agencies is to the national stability we all take for granted. He shows what is at stake – the likelihood of a range of catastrophic risks coming to pass – and turns the least charismatic of all subjects into a gripping, funny and frightening human drama.”
Quotes from the Wall Street Journal column “Books of the Year,” Dec. 8-9, 2018.
© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.