Send to KindleIn this, the third part of a look at leadership books, I’ll turn to a little different genre; biographies and autobiographies.
I like to read about how other people have handled the real issues of life. A word of caution though. Biographies are often written by authors who either have an ax to grind or are apologists for the subject. Autobiographies are always written by someone who would like the subject to look good.
I enjoy studying history, which often means politics. One of the most unique books I’ve ever read is the autobiography of President Ulysses S. Grant titled The Personal Memories of U.S. Grant. Written after he left the white house and published after his death, the book is a fascinating look at a very tumultuous time in U.S. history. There are plenty of leadership lessons to be gleaned from this great text.
Few of us will ever find ourselves in a leadership position with 10’s of thousand lives in our hands. One who has is General of the Army Omar Bradley. He wrote two autobiographies of his experiences, A Soldier’s Story, and A General’s Life. Both are full of fantastic examples of leadership in action in some very tough situations.
Last year the movie Lincoln was released to great acclaim. Much of that movie was based on A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Faced with the imminent dissolution of the republic, President Lincoln had to take bold and definitive steps while winning over his political rivals who would be just as happy to see him fail. How he was able to form an extremely effective team with those rivals and hold the republic together is an amazing story of leadership.
Leave a comment and let us know what leaders you would recommend we read about.
