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Leadership: In Turbulent Times

Doris Kearns Goodwin

4.41 · Rating details · 9,778 ratings · 1,429 reviews

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

In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they re ...more

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Hardcover, First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition September 2018, 473 pages

Published September 18th 2018 by Simon & Schuster

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Oct 05, 2018 Faith rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, overdrive

This book has mini biographies of four presidents selected by the author as exemplars of leadership abilities: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. There is a chapter for each, under each of three themes: ambition and early recognition of leadership ability; adversity and growth; and how they led during crises in their presidencies. There is also an epilogue that describes the ends of their lives. Aside from Lincoln, I hadn't really thought about that, and ...more

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Sep 30, 2018 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: civil-war, non-fiction, history, biography, civil-rights, president-bio, world-war-ii, audio-book, politics, us-history

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I also learned a few things about presidents, I have read many of their biographies. I am a big fan of Goodwin. She states she started working on this book in 2013 and it took her five years to research and write. I felt that the release of the book at this current time in our presidential affairs was quite pertinent.

Goodwin wrote biographies over the years of each of the presidents. She chose for this book: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano ...more

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Jan 20, 2019 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Doris Kearns Goodwin pairs her superior research skills with an ability to recount history in a comprehensive manner to bring readers this wonderful book on political power in the most difficult situations. Patching together some of her past work on four American presidents, Goodwin examines the rise to power of each man, as well as how they were able to overcome significant adversity to right the proverbial apple cart. Goodwin chooses to explore the life and times of four men synonymous with gr Doris Kearns Goodwin pairs her superior research skills with an ability to recount history in a comprehensive manner to bring readers this wonderful book on political power in the most difficult situations. Patching together some of her past work on four American presidents, Goodwin examines the rise to power of each man, as well as how they were able to overcome significant adversity to right the proverbial apple cart. Goodwin chooses to explore the life and times of four men synonymous with great achievements throughout their lives: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy), Franklin Roosevelt (FDR), and Lyndon Johnson (LBJ). Told using three themes, Goodwin explores a rise to prominence, sustaining of power (including ascending to the presidency), and utilisation of that power when times were tough. In Goodwin’s examination of Lincoln, she tells of a gangly man who was always driven to better himself, even when others could not see his end goal. Lincoln loved to learn and questioned the status quo at every turn. When he chose to run for office, he was quite verbose in his explanation, but was able to win others over with his oratory skills, rather than simply following the pre-ordained path of the party under whose banner he sought to run. Winning a place, first in the Illinois Senate and eventually as a congressman, Lincoln sought to expand what was taking place by asking the questions about what else could be done. When he won the presidential election of 1860, Lincoln entered the White House in turbulent times. Goodwin examines many of the struggles he had, as the country tore itself apart, forcing him to take action. This included writing and delivering the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the greatest speeches that Lincoln ever gave. Goodwin seeks to argue that the speech itself was not the only struggle, but also Lincoln’s trying to pass it and keep his Cabinet together. Teddy Roosevelt was always a man who sought to do his own thing. His father was a daunting character in his life, but this did not stop Teddy from striving to excel. He was a man of many words, but also one who knew how to relate to everyone. Goodwin examines how Teddy could rise to any occasion and win over those who might otherwise not give him a second look. Playing politics in New York, Roosevelt was able to work within the GOP ranks and earn himself a senior bureaucratic position where he could exemplify his ‘man of the people’ persona. He shied away from little and, given the chance, changed in head first to meet adversity. A police commissioner helped him win the favour of New Yorkers, but he was not done there. After the assassination of President William McKinley, Roosevelt—who had been destined for the doldrums of obscurity when he was the vice-president—ascended into the White House. Unsure what to expect, he was saddled with a coal strike that almost paralyzed the country. While others would have let business and labour work out their differences, Teddy waded into those waters and diligently acted to solve the problem for the American people. Teddy’s fifth cousin, FDR, chose another path for his success. Born into significant wealth, Franklin Roosevelt was handed a congressional seat and told to run with it. FDR chose to represent the party well, using new and innovative techniques to get his name out to the masses in New York. He was a keen worker and would not let anything get in his way. When he was struck with polio, he faced what was surely his greatest obstacle, but FDR would not stand down. Forced to reinvent himself, with the help of his wife, FDR toppled the hurdles and ascended to the governor’s mansion in New York before riding the wave of success during America’s darkest days. Goodwin examines America’s reaction to the Great Depression before introducing FDR’s solution in a series of economic and social changes during those first one hundred days in office. Now a yardstick by which many presidents are measured, those first few months proved to be FDR’s way of staring down the despair and breathing new life into a shaky America. The final man under exploration is the irascible Lyndon Johnson, whose rise within Texas politics seemed almost pre-ordained. However, LBJ came from modest means and had to claw his way up the ladder, serving first as a teacher and principal in a small school. From there, he found new and exciting ways to work any crowd around him, earning him points wherever he went. As Goodwin explains, LBJ did politics the Texas away, not always by the book, but certainly represented those around him effectively. When he won national office, LBJ had to learn the ropes again, but his gumption helped him rise to power, where he served in both congressional houses with distinction, rubbing elbows with some of the big names in politics at the time. It was another assassination that saw LBJ assume the presidency, but he wasted no time in getting his agenda in order. As Goodwin shows, LBJ’s desire to ensure his predecessor’s desire to offer tax cuts and deliver civil rights to a significant portion of the underprivileged population. LBJ fought tooth and nail, using his experience in Congress, as well as numerous personal relationships to further this causes and ensure that America remained on the course towards success in the latter decades of the 20th century. Goodwin shows how the president refused to let congressional or regional walls stymie his ideals to bring equality to a country that was still feeling the effects of its Civil War a century before. Goodwin draws obvious parallels between the first and fourth of her study subjects to show how the argument of equality for all had come firm circle, subtly showing that all the bloodshed was, realistically, for naught. Still, LBJ would not give up on these domestic issues, even as his international realm fell apart the more intense the Vietnam War became. In her conclusion, Goodwin takes a final look at these men and how their deaths impacted America. Did the population learn from these men and were their legacies impactful? Goodwin sums everything up with some of her trademark blunt analysis, while offering the reader some hope as America returns to tumultuous times, even if the man at the helm could never hope to lead effectively. A sensational book that gets to the core of power in four men so very different but also so much alike. Adversity need not cripple anyone, as long as determination is your guide. Highly recommended to those who love political biographies and would love to see great men in action, as America suffers through new turbulent times.

I thoroughly enjoy political biographies, particularly when they are well researched and written in such a way that anyone can enjoy them. Doris Kearns Goodwin has earn this reputation in her half-century of writing and exploring the world of politics through the eyes of a historian. While I have read comprehensive biographies of all four men, I left this piece with more knowledge and a better understanding of what it takes to steer the massive political ship that is the United States of America away from turbulence and hidden icebergs. Goodwin develops this piece, based on some of her past work writing about these men, creating threads that connect them, even as they differed so much. Taken a look at their rises to power, Goodwin compares them all in four introductory chapters, before forging ahead to discuss their ascents. This political build-up, while different in its path, can again be tied together by other threads, which makes up the four middle chapters. Then, when each man had been chosen to lead America (or moved into the position by assassination), they excelled greatly and used their own political acumen to pave the way to a better and more sustainable America. Goodwin argues that America was better for the leadership these four men exemplified, even if the history books offers varied judgment. The curious reader will take much away from this book, seeing themes between the four presidents that many might have missed before. Goodwin’s writing is easy to digest and her arguments are sound. She is a passionate and powerful storyteller who will not shy away from any challenge. As America is back in a time of tumult, with its people divided and politicians fighting more than in recent decades, this book is a refreshing look at how to REALLY make America great again!

Kudos, Madam Goodwin, for dazzling us with your abilities. I hope many take the time to see your central arguments and discover how American political history comes to life under your pen.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
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A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ...more

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Sep 05, 2019 Kobe Bryant rated it it was amazing

Shelves: big-ideas

I loved TEAM OF RIVALS, and LEADERSHIP really built on the things I had taken away from that book. Moving from basketball to building a company, I needed to learn new and different leadership skills and Goodwin outlines the different skill-sets of Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and Lyndon Johnson, accessibly.

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Nov 24, 2020 Judith E rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

As a product of the U.S. educational system I have been thoroughly schooled in the decisions Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson have made, but I am not as familiar with how these acts were accomplished and implemented.

Doris K. Goodwin has done an impressive job dissecting their behaviors and illustrating how these men became great leaders. They all had some similar characteristics. All 4 learned to control their arrogance and tempers as young men, they all bui ...more

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Sep 28, 2018 TL rated it liked it

Shelves: goodreads-giveaways

I received this via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own.
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Short review since head is still on the mend (better than yesterday at least)

The author is the history teacher I would have loved to have in high-school(aside from one in my school, the others weren't good at keeping me interested). She brings history alive and is good at keeping the reader engaged in the subjects she writes about.

This one wasn't as good at Team of Rivals but was still an int ...more

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Oct 09, 2018 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: u-s-presidents, history, political-history

Leadership: In Turbulent Times is a powerful look at the qualities of leadership exhibited, each in their own way, and as determined by history and the unique crises and challenges faced by four transformational presidents - Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Beloved historian Doris Kearns Goodwin separates her book into three sections: Ambition and the Recognition of Leadership; Adversity and Growth; and The Leader and the Times: How They Led. Kearns Go ...more

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Aug 20, 2018 Bruce Katz rated it liked it

Shelves: american-history

3.75 (yes, I know it’s silly, but it feels right). Goodwin is to my mind a national treasure. Her earlier books hold pride of place on my shelves. This new book, however, simply didn’t move me as much. I’m not sure when she decided to write it — I understand that years of research typically go into her books — but one can’t read Leadership without being reminded again and again of the many shortcomings of our current political leaders. Indeed, it might be that the deeply worrisome nature of our ...more

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Jun 21, 2020 Michael Finocchiaro rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-21st-c, management-lit, history, biography

Goodwin's book is a concise study of the leadership skills of four presidents for whom she had previously written prize-winning biographies: Abraham Lincoln (Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt (The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism), Franklin D Roosevelt (No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II), and Lyndon B Johnson (Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream). This ...more

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Aug 31, 2018 Donna Wetzel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads

Thank you Goodreads and Doris Kearns Goodwin for my free copy of Leadership: In Turbulent Times. This is an excellent book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Ms. Goodwin has the ability to take complicated subject matter and transform it into easy to read and understand text. She is a storyteller like Abe Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson, who are two of the past presidents discussed in this book. She gives many examples to support her viewpoints as to why these men had such great leadership qualities ...more

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Dec 10, 2020 Deacon Tom F rated it it was amazing

Great Book about Great Presidents,

I thoroughly enjoyed "Leadership in Turbulent Times" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It looked with a microscope at the leadership styles of Présidents T. Roosevelt, F Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Abraham Lincoln.

The book was written so we'll, I found myself slipping into the minds of these great men and asking myself what I would do in these rough situations. In spite of the different timeframes and the particular personalities, Goodwin finds similarities with each. ...more

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Oct 17, 2018 Bryan Craig rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-history, presidential-bios

What makes a great leader? Are they born or bred? These are some of the questions Goodwin asks the reader. I really liked how Goodwin organized the material in her study of four great presidents: Lincoln, TR, FDR, and LBJ. She unpacks important traits of their childhood, how they recovered from their lowest points, and how they succeeded at their biggest moments as presidents.

Other scholars remind us that presidential greatness is hard to find, and after reading this, this fact still holds true, ...more

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Nov 25, 2020 Cara Putman rated it it was amazing

This was such a well done audiobook. I loved this unique look at four presidents and their leadership in trying times. The first chapter on each is on their early years. The second is on their rise to the presidency. The final chapter on each is lessons on their leadership in a particular crisis. I’ll be using this in my undergraduate leadership class.

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Oct 13, 2018 Joseph Sciuto rated it it was amazing

What a wonderful, wonderful book by the brilliant Doris Kearns Goodwin. Over the last couple of decades and especially now, I have asked myself, "Where have you gone George Washington, Abe Lincoln, T.R., Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Harry Truman and in a sense "Leadership in Turbulent Times" by Mrs. Goodwin has answered that question. They having gone anywhere, but apparently the leadership in our country has refused to study and emulate these men; whereas the four Presidents in this book, Lin ...more

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Dec 26, 2018 Katy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pulitzer-2018-challenge

I came away impressed with all four presidents, but my opinion of Lyndon Johnson was increased the most. Probably because I knew the least about him going into the book and I was impressed with him as a leader and person. An awesome read.

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Feb 09, 2019 Alisa rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: presidential history enthusiasts

Shelves: politics, presidents

Great book! Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a compelling treatise on leadership using four Presidents she has studied intimately as the central characters: Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. For each President she describes their formative years and the forces that shaped their personal attributes, illustrates the role that adversity played early in their careers, and how they assumed the mantle as leaders during a critical point during their presidency. H ...more

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Jan 21, 2019 Helga Cohen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: politics, american-history, presidents

In Leadership, Goodwin explores leadership qualities from four presidents she has studied most closely. Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, Theodore Roosevelt during the coal strike, Franklin Roosevelt during his first 100 days, and Lyndon Johnson in civil rights. She explores how they recognize leadership qualities within themselves and how they were recognized as leaders by others. We see how they entered public life and how they were filled with confusion, adversity, confusion and hope.
Abra In Leadership, Goodwin explores leadership qualities from four presidents she has studied most closely. Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, Theodore Roosevelt during the coal strike, Franklin Roosevelt during his first 100 days, and Lyndon Johnson in civil rights. She explores how they recognize leadership qualities within themselves and how they were recognized as leaders by others. We see how they entered public life and how they were filled with confusion, adversity, confusion and hope.
Abraham Lincoln showed transformational leadership as he expanded the North’s war aims from union to emancipation through the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. He wanted emancipation for all and was determined to get agreement from his rivals to accomplish it. Theodore Roosevelt provides leadership through crisis management by how he brought labor and management to the forefront during the Great Cold Strike of 1902 and solved the crisis and brought consensus. Franklin Roosevelt responded in a masterful way projecting leadership in his first 100 days with his response during the Great Depression. He implemented the New Deal and closed the banks then slowly opened them in order to save them and regain the people’s confidence. Lyndon Johnson demonstrated his leadership by using all the forces at his disposal by persuading Congress and the Senate and every one of interest in passing the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965). This altered the legal terms of how blacks and whites interacted and could become integrated in all facets of life.
Goodwin describes the early lives of each of these men and how they grew into their leadership roles through adversity and fortitude. Leaders must know themselves and their own times if they want to change them. It requires wisdom which they showed in abundance. She also showed the humanity of these four great leaders which was uplifting.
Goodwin is a great historian and terrific writer. In this book she used materials from her earlier books but organized them in a different context to explore the leadership aspects in these presidents. She did a masterful job in combining biographical detail with historical context. She writes with insight and gives us hope. I highly recommend this book.
...more

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Aug 17, 2018 Jenna D. rated it really liked it

Brilliant. I learned something about each president in their respective chapters. But became a bit muddled and long-winded when the author spoke by topic in the later half of the book and jumped between each president, sometimes mid-thought. Regardless, this is a very important book that I see doing well upon release. It’s a sad read, too, as it inadvertently highlights those things that are lacking in our current “leadership”.

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Feb 22, 2019 Joe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: listened-to

Another masterpiece from Doris Kearns Goodwin. This should be required reading for anyone thinking of entering politics or who aspires to a leadership position. It makes me want to read more on all four Presidents (Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ), and that's the sign of a great book. It's also a great primer if you've never delved into Presidential biographies before. A great, great read. ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 Alan Tomkins-Raney rated it it was amazing

Goodwin, a gifted writer and esteemed historian, structured this book as a series of case studies in presidential leadership. Her subjects for our consideration are Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. The book is divided into three sections. The first two sections read more like standard mini-biographies as they discuss first, each man's ambition and recognition of his own leadership potential, and second, periods of adversity and growth that profo ...more

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Dec 24, 2018 Teri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2018, history

Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles four past presidents who endured tumultuous times during their administrations. Abraham Lincoln had to work through warring factions in the US to see the Emancipation Proclamation become law. Teddy Roosevelt had to deal with a miners strike. FDR took over the country during the depression, seeing multiple programs and projects instituted for his New Deal to come to fruition to stabilize the country's economy. Lyndon Baines Johnson took over as president when the nat Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles four past presidents who endured tumultuous times during their administrations. Abraham Lincoln had to work through warring factions in the US to see the Emancipation Proclamation become law. Teddy Roosevelt had to deal with a miners strike. FDR took over the country during the depression, seeing multiple programs and projects instituted for his New Deal to come to fruition to stabilize the country's economy. Lyndon Baines Johnson took over as president when the nation lost JFK to an assassin's bullet. He worked hard to see Civil Rights legislation passed during a tumultuous time in our history. All four men had specific leadership qualities that allowed them to persevere through trials and tribulations during their administrations to achieve major goals in moving our country forward. Are these qualities learned or ingrained in these men? They all had uphill battles throughout their lives and their learned experiences in life certainly contributed to their leadership styles.

Goodwin looks at the lives of these men in three sections. The first section covers their young lives and leadership traits they developed before their foray into politics. The second section described some of the hardships they endured in life and their uphill battle getting into politics. The final section covers a specific case study for each president: Emancipation Proclamation, miner's strike, New Deal programs, and Civil Rights legislation. For each president, Goodwin details the leadership qualities that helped these men persevere through turbulent times to become great leaders.

I enjoy Goodwin's writing and how she analyzed each president and their leadership qualities. They were not perfect men, so she did show some of their flaws. In the final chapters, she focused on specific case studies that showed these qualities and the strengths of each man. She did not go into other issues that the presidents dealt with, outside of a brief discussion on the Vietnam war. That seemed a little out of place. I liked how Goodwin focused on one aspect of each man to really show what makes a person a great leader. ...more

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Jul 23, 2019 Robert Booth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-reading-challenge

Excellent! One of the best books that I have read in a long time.

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Jul 13, 2020 Ian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: avail-nvdpl-lv, biography, history

This was the first book by Doris Kearns Goodwin that I've read, and I really enjoyed it. Although it covers the lives of four key US presidents: Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, F.D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson, the author does a pretty good job of limiting the content to the subject at hand: their leadership skills.

Goodwin divides the four presidential stories as follows: a first chapter each on the early years and how they became involved in politics, a second on each one's rise to the presidency thr ...more

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Oct 13, 2020 Dan Byrden rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

In her book Leadership: In Turbulent Times, Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles four past presidents (Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson) examining their leadership skills during turbulent times. The book is divided into three sections, with a chapter in each section dedicated to each of the four presidents. The first section introduces and discusses each mans ambition and how his leadership was recognised at an early age. The second section discusses the advers ...more

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Oct 29, 2018 Kasa Cotugno rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, genre-history, author-visit

Doris Kearns Goodwin breathes life into material that she's mined before. This audio version benefits from the contribution of four well known actors, each representing a president she had researched in depth (i.e., Beau Bridges reads the sections on LBJ). Since that research was so immersive, she came to think of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, FD Roosevelt and LBJ as "her guys," and what each had in common was the power to lead the country in times of crisis. In her portraits, limning their paths to th ...more

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Oct 27, 2019 Dawn Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2019, biography, history, audible, already-own, nonfiction-read

I do not recommend power reading this book like I just did [I got how the chapters were set up wrong and so I had A LOT more book than I realized to listen to and would have started MUCH earlier if I had been better prepared since I am seeing the author tomorrow at an author event and my brain is now mush]. I recommend taking each chapter a day at a time and reading/listening to this nice and slow. Because, like all Doris Kearns Goodwin, there is A LOT OF INFORMATION. A. LOT. I mean, I just read I do not recommend power reading this book like I just did [I got how the chapters were set up wrong and so I had A LOT more book than I realized to listen to and would have started MUCH earlier if I had been better prepared since I am seeing the author tomorrow at an author event and my brain is now mush]. I recommend taking each chapter a day at a time and reading/listening to this nice and slow. Because, like all Doris Kearns Goodwin, there is A LOT OF INFORMATION. A. LOT. I mean, I just read a 978 page book on Lincoln by her and there was stuff in this book about him that she DID NOT COVER in the 978 page book. It boggled my mind.

This is an amazing book - it looks at 4 presidents in different phases of their presidency and how they handled the crisis's that came their way. As Lincoln and FDR are two of my favorite presidents, I was really looking forward to this [and will be reading the full biography on FDR next year with the bestie]and I was not disappointed. I can take or leave Teddy Roosevelt, though he did so much while he was president and after, that it is always interesting to learn about him [this is the third book though I have read this year though about him. I am a little TR'ed out tbh]. The only negative for me in this book is the sections on LBJ. Ugh. Though I learned things about him that I didn't know, it doesn't take away from what a PUTZ he was and a whiner and how he chose not to listen to those who were wiser around him in regards to Vietnam. For me, that whole debacle erases all the good that he did an tried to do before that happened.

The narration for this book was spectacular. Absolutely amazing. David Morse narrated Lincoln's chapters, Richard Thomas [of The Walton's fame] narrated Teddy Roosevelt's chapters, Jay O. Sanders [he is in one of my all-time favorite movies {The Day After Tomorrow} and he is AMAZING with accents] narrates FDR's chapters and Beau Bridges narrates the chapters on LBJ [which was on the few amazing things about those chapters]. It made the book go much faster than expected and each narrator brought their own unique voice to what they were reading. I would listen to any of them narrate anything. Amazing.

This is a really great book for anyone who loves history - it really was a great read. ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 John of Canada rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography, political, history, non-fiction, made-me-think

It,s appropriate that Goodwin spent so much of this discussing the story telling methods of Lincoln and TR.The research in this book was exemplary,but what really made this such a good book to me was that I felt as if I was sitting in a room with her listening to her tell stories about these four great men.I am interested in history,even more so as it is told by fabulous writers like Doris.I also learned a lot of new words!

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Oct 01, 2018 Drtaxsacto rated it liked it · review of another edition

I like Kearns Goodwin - anyone who can write convincingly on everything from baseball to superb biographies of leaders has to have something going. But this book is not close to one of her best. Its subjects should not have been a surprise - KG has written individual biographies of each of the subjects in her book (Lincoln, TR, FDR and LBJ). The book adds some new anecdotes for each of the leaders considered so there are some morsels.

But I have two problems with the book - her underlying theory I like Kearns Goodwin - anyone who can write convincingly on everything from baseball to superb biographies of leaders has to have something going. But this book is not close to one of her best. Its subjects should not have been a surprise - KG has written individual biographies of each of the subjects in her book (Lincoln, TR, FDR and LBJ). The book adds some new anecdotes for each of the leaders considered so there are some morsels.

But I have two problems with the book - her underlying theory that kinetic activity - even at the expense of the other branches of government - is what defines a good leader is wrong headed. I also think her choice of four leaders is unconvincing and pedestrian. Every president faces challenges. I am not a fan of three of the four presidents covered in this book. Clearly she believes in the centrality of the role of the president but it is in the spirit of James McGregor Burns.

In my mind the best presidents had a superb ability to bring people together. Lincoln, either necessarily or because he could, operated under a good part of his presidency with martial law. TR was a classic self serving politician. He was in many ways manic (as Kearns' superb individual biography points out). It is certainly reasonable to argue that FDRs chaotic management style might have delayed the economic recovery from the Great Depression. And although she covers the tragedy of Vietnam (in the chapter on LBJ she makes the bizarre argument that JFK was more focused on international issues - wasn't he the President who said "Ask not what you can do for your country...." JFK was at best indifferent to working the Congress and thus his initiatives for domestic policy were left on the floor. The best part of the book is her descriptions of LBJs effort to get the Civil Rights Bill done.

What concerns me about this book is that she could have chosen leaders who understood how to operate in turbulent times (both Reagan and Truman fit the bill or even perhaps Grover Cleveland) and had a much more defensible thesis and more entertaining book. ...more

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Sep 24, 2018 Dan Graser rated it really liked it

With characteristic erudition and thoroughness, Doris Kearns Goodwin achieves an answer to the main questions she was asking with this book:

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

She centers this extensive answer around four different types of leaders who happen to share the distinction of having been elected President: the transformational leadership of Lincoln, ...more

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Feb 20, 2019 Diego rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nation-history, democracy-politics

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a great writer and storyteller. This was my first book by her and I really enjoyed it. The book isn’t likely new material for those that have read her previous large books, but I like how she extracted the specific stories of these four presidents and identified their great leadership capabilities. Her personal experiences with Lyndon Johnson had me hooked despite being short. I’m sure she had more to tell but that would have digressed from the message of the book.

I look ...more

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Leadership

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About Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin

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DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN’s interest in leadership began more than half a century ago as a professor at Harvard. Her experiences working for LBJ in the White House and later assisting him on his memoirs led to her bestselling "Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream." She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning "No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II." She earn ...more

Books by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga

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Quotes from Leadership: In Tu...

“It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed,” Abigail Adams wrote to her son John Quincy Adams in the midst of the American Revolution, suggesting that “the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues.” — 7 likes

“More and more it seems to me that about the best thing in life is to have a piece of work worth doing and then to do it well.” — 5 likes

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