- Hardcover: 476 pages
- Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd (10 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 041377662X
- ISBN-13: 978-0413776624
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 360,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
Owen has produced a compelling book.
Stefan Stern, Financial Times
A fascinating book.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A ground-breaking book that opens the door to a new area of political economy. David Owen's background as a medical doctor and a leading political figure of our times gives a unique voice to this subject. It deserves to become a standard text in its field.
The extent to which illness can affect our leaders should be a concern to us all. Worse, the tendency of some leaders to become prone to behavioural inconsistencies the longer they hold office is developed by the author into a fascinating 'hubris syndrome' with its attendant personality symptoms and modern examples.
This book should resonate with electors and provide cause for reflection by those who seek or hold high office.
The extent to which illness can affect our leaders should be a concern to us all. Worse, the tendency of some leaders to become prone to behavioural inconsistencies the longer they hold office is developed by the author into a fascinating 'hubris syndrome' with its attendant personality symptoms and modern examples.
This book should resonate with electors and provide cause for reflection by those who seek or hold high office.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A fascinating if bitty summary of the health problems which beset a selection of the C20th world leaders. Given that the writer is both a distinguished political figure and a neurological specialist, his comments are particularly interesting,although I did wonder at times whether it was the doctor or the politician who was speaking. I suspect that this may have occured to Dr Owens which might explain the lengthy introduction establishing his credentials as a neurologist. Some of the revelations are fascinating and downright alarming - I agree with the earlier reviewer who picks out the health of JFK and its effect on his handling of both the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crises as one of the best examples. Quite why he goes on to decry the ideas put forward in the final chapter as "liberal" puzzzles me - would he prefer them to be "illiberal"? I would use impractical or utopian.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Immensely insightful, and with thought provoking ideas about the way in which a person's medical condition affects their 'day job' as a political figure. Sounds like a heavy, worthy topic but is actually very readable. All backed up with lots of research and appealing 'insider' knowledge - obtained via the author's medical or political careers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
That's one big crate of sour grapes
Overall, the book seems to imply that for every excursion of human effort made by every pursuer of Public office there is or will be a diagnosable disease of the mind identified,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr D
Nothing very new here
The subject of illness and its impact upon decision making is a fascinating one and David Owen's book manages to make it less than fascinating owing to his turgid style and where... Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. G. Booker
In Sickness and In Power; Ilness in Heads of Government
Being a medical man (psychiatrist) I find this book to be extremely interesting not only to a specialist but also to the layman. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Goran
Not quite as ground-breaking as the reviewer above might think...
This book is very reminiscent of Hugh L'Etang's The Pathology of Leadership, published in 1969 and covering very much the same ground and using, in many cases, the same case... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Chris Saunders
Exploring deficiencies in leadership
David Owen (Lord Owen) has been in a unique position of being medically trained and having had close access to some of the subjects of his book. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by J. M. D. Fisher
A Disappointing Hotchpotch of Different Themes
Although an attractively presented book on a potentially interesting subject the content and style are disappointing. Read more
Published on 26 May 2008 by Dr. R. Brandon
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