A plea for the importance of history in the study of leadership.
A professor of leadership and history reflects on influential political leaders.
Temkin, a fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and author of The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair, asks whether leaders make history or the historical moment makes the leader. The answer is both. To argue his case, the author looks at leaders under different conditions: in times of crisis (Herbert Hoover, Huey Long, and Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression); under tyranny (the French resistance during the Vichy regime); when past decisions severely constrain present choices (the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki); when leadership fails (Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War); and under colonial and authoritarian regimes (Algeria’s war for independence). Temkin casts suffragist movement leaders Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul as successes in the face of entrenched power, and he uses Martin Luther King Jr. to illustrate the claim that a leader has to leave a legacy. Although the author excels at providing historical context, he offers little about the “the art of leadership.” His focus is the consequences of leadership—good leaders “do not even need to be warriors, rebels, or saints. In our current condition, it may be enough that they simply want to help the public”—and not how leaders achieve their goals. That Temkin’s interest is confined to the politically famous—leaving aside university presidents, corporate heads, labor leaders, and directors of charitable organizations—further limits his perspective. The book’s title is also problematic. The author is never explicit about why the categories of fighting for a noble cause, overcoming oppression, and sacrificing oneself to the greater good are helpful for distinguishing among leaders and understanding leadership. In fact, he attests that the “best” leaders are all three—e.g., the suffragists were “committed warriors,” “determined rebels,” and “reluctant saints.”
A plea for the importance of history in the study of leadership.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781541758476
Page Count: 320
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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