- Paperback: 338 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone; New edition edition (6 Mar 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0684801388
- ISBN-13: 978-0684801384
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,359,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Lincoln at Gettysburg, Garry Wills now considers one of history's most emotionally charged topics: Leadership. Presenting portraits of FDR, Ross Perot, King David, Martha Graham, and many others, Wills offers a lens for studying society and ourselves.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Some believed, in the past, that leadership was at odds with democracy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Some believed, in the past, that leadership was at odds with democracy. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Leadership is an interesting topic, but Wills somehow manages to drain all the life out of it. I did learn a little, though, so that's why I gave it two stars instead of one.
I also thought that the author let his political bias get in the way of his writing.
Not a book that was worth reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
weLEAD Book Review from the Editor of leadingtoday.org
12 Feb 2002
Format:Paperback
Wills has a keen sense of the importance of followers to leadership. In the introduction to the book he states plainly "The leader most needs followers". He goes on to explain that in reality followers "have a say" in what they are led toward! The theme of Certain Trumpets is that a successful leader doesn't just trumpet or sound their own certain message, but instead they sound a specific call to others capable of following. He believes that leaders need to understand their followers more than followers need to understand them! What is Garry Wills basic definition of a leader? "One who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by the leader and followers". In other words, coercion of others is not leadership, it is just power.
With this introduction in mind the rest of the book consists of Wills discussion of individuals who have possessed leadership in various ways. The author believes that different leaders should be considered notable because of their own goals rather than their personalities, which is the most common perspective. As a result of this perspective, Wills does not treat leadership as a single thing, but mentions sixteen various kinds of leadership within the book. He also goes on to discuss various subdivisions within the sixteen kind's. Certain Trumpets attempts to define these distinctive types of leadership by using examples that range from Franklin Roosevelt (Electoral Leadership) to Dorothy Day (Saintly Leadership). To make this exploration interesting, and to provoke thought, he also provides an antitype character in contrast to each distinctive type of leader presented. It is Wills hope to exemplify the individual's characteristics by providing this contrast. Wills doesn't think we lack leaders today, but sufficient followers. He refers to this as the "real problem with leadership". Certain Trumpets is easy to read, stimulating and creative enough to look at leadership from a different lens.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
An outstanding book on types of leadership
9 Jun 1999
Format:Hardcover
As Wills notes, "tell me your admired leaders, and you have bared your soul." Wills has bared his and while I might choose others, his descriptions of each type of leader give me something on to which to hang my own leadership research. This is a helpful piece of research. If one is able to see that we are all subjective in our approaches to and understanding of leadership, there is a great deal to learn here.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Nuances with lots of food for thought
9 July 2006
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book intending to read only a couple of chapters. I ended up reading the entire book with fascination. This is the kind of book that makes one think, reflect, and re-evaluate simplistic cultural paradigms. Those who confuse leaders with super heroes or think leadership has to do with wielding power to combat evil would benefit from reading this book. Wills does an excellent job of recognizing that people with a lot of influence or power are not necessarily leaders. I found this relavant to today's shortage of positive leaders.
Although each chapter cannot delve into the representative leader in great depth, each chapter does an excellent job of distinguishing between different types of leadership. The introduction, the conclusion, the notes, and the many citings of other books on leadership added to my learning. This very readable book provides an excellent sense of history and places leadership within the context of history. This is a pleasant change from the endless books on leadership and business.
My only complaint would be the lack of attention to the influence of media on today's leaders and followers.
Although each chapter cannot delve into the representative leader in great depth, each chapter does an excellent job of distinguishing between different types of leadership. The introduction, the conclusion, the notes, and the many citings of other books on leadership added to my learning. This very readable book provides an excellent sense of history and places leadership within the context of history. This is a pleasant change from the endless books on leadership and business.
My only complaint would be the lack of attention to the influence of media on today's leaders and followers.
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