Name: The Myth of the Strong Leader By Archie Brown
SKU: 9780099554851
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The Myth of the Strong Leader Summary

The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age by Archie Brown

* UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR *

CHOSEN BY BILL GATES AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016

Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that 'strong leaders', dominant individual wielders of power, are the most successful and admirable.

Within authoritarian regimes, a collective leadership is a lesser evil compared with a personal dictatorship. Within democracies, although 'strong leaders' are seldom as strong or independent as they purport to be, the idea that just one person is entitled to take the big decisions is harmful and should be resisted.

Examining Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mikhail Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping and Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair amongst many others, this landmark study pinpoints different types and qualities of leadership. Overturning the popular notion of the strong leader, it makes us rethink preconceptions about what it means to lead.

The Myth of the Strong Leader Reviews

"An important and unusual read... Brown does a wonderful job of showing how the same qualities that can seem so appealing in strong leaders can lead, in the mildest cases, to bad decisions - and, in the most extreme cases, to death and suffering on a massive scale... Though The Myth of the Strong Leader is about political leadership, you come away from Brown's book with a deeper understanding of leadership in general" -- Bill Gates "A profound, and wise, book - one of the most important works on politics for a long time. On the basis of penetrating, wide-ranging analysis, traversing democratic and authoritarian systems, Archie Brown clearly demonstrates the commonly held belief in strong leadership as the answer to political problems to be completely, often disastrously, misplaced." -- Sir Ian Kershaw "A brilliant exploration of political leaders in democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes... Brown's excellent book stresses the importance of the context for the appearance of effective leaders and, when dealing with democratic regimes, the importance of the institutions" Political Quarterly "The best analysis of the nature of true leadership I have read." -- Gary Hart, Former United States Senator "This book badly needed to be written, and only Archie Brown - with his unique breadth of scholarly knowledge combined with a finger-tip feel for real-world politics - could possibly have written it. It turns out that there are fewer strong leaders in the world than is often supposed and that many of them, far from being desirable, are positively dangerous. Perhaps the best political systems are those that are effectively "leader-proofed"." -- Anthony King, Professor of Government at the University of Essex and co-author of The Blunders of Our Governments

About Archie Brown

Archie Brown is a British political scientist and historian. He is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Oxford University and Emeritus Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford. A Fellow of the British Academy since 1991, Professor Brown was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He has written widely on Soviet and Communist politics, the Cold War, and political leadership.

Additional information

Sku

GOR006536246

ISBN 13

9780099554851

ISBN 10

0099554852

Title

The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age by Archie Brown

Author

Archie Brown

Condition

Used - Very Good

Binding type

Paperback

Publisher

Vintage Publishing

Year published

2015-04-16

Number of pages

496

Prizes

N/A

Cover note

Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.

Note

This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

The Myth of the Strong Leader Archie Brown

The Myth of the Strong Leader by Archie Brown

Summary

The Myth of the Strong Leader Summary

The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age by Archie Brown

The Myth of the Strong Leader Reviews

About Archie Brown

Additional information

Customer Reviews - The Myth of the Strong Leader