This is a cool book that is comprised of four mini-biographies of the presidents Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and (Lyndon) Johnson. There are three parts, in which the author explores the rise of each figure, a setback in his life, and his leadership in the presidency. A final chapter addresses the last days of each president. I think this book is a great way to learn the lives of each president as well as their leadership styles, but it is more biography than self-help or advice. While Goodwin does mark important lessons to be learned, it would be nice to have more coherent lists of them, rather than being dispersed throughout each chapter. That said, this is an excellent book and I learned a lot about each man profiled. I gathered certain images of each president. Lincoln was completely self-made and self-taught, and cursed with a strong body that made his father take him out of school to work the fields. TR, on the other hand, was cultivated intellectually from a young age but cursed with a weak body that he had to overcome and strengthen. FDR was raised in a similar way and like LBJ was not an intellectual like Lincoln or Teddy. He instead had what Oliver Wendell Holmes called “A second-class intellect. But a firs class temperament.” FDR was smooth, confident, and likeable. He was able to make hard decisions based on good advice and didn’t need the wits of someone like Lincoln, who pored over books in every spare moment. Johnson, like Lincoln, grew up poor. He worked the hardest and most obsessively of all of them and was a true visionary. It’s interesting that each man looked to his predecessors for lessons and learned from those who came before.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Reflection on Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This is a cool book that is comprised of four mini-biographies of the presidents Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and (Lyndon) Johnson. There are three parts, in which the author explores the rise of each figure, a setback in his life, and his leadership in the presidency. A final chapter addresses the last days of each president. I think this book is a great way to learn the lives of each president as well as their leadership styles, but it is more biography than self-help or advice. While Goodwin does mark important lessons to be learned, it would be nice to have more coherent lists of them, rather than being dispersed throughout each chapter. That said, this is an excellent book and I learned a lot about each man profiled. I gathered certain images of each president. Lincoln was completely self-made and self-taught, and cursed with a strong body that made his father take him out of school to work the fields. TR, on the other hand, was cultivated intellectually from a young age but cursed with a weak body that he had to overcome and strengthen. FDR was raised in a similar way and like LBJ was not an intellectual like Lincoln or Teddy. He instead had what Oliver Wendell Holmes called “A second-class intellect. But a firs class temperament.” FDR was smooth, confident, and likeable. He was able to make hard decisions based on good advice and didn’t need the wits of someone like Lincoln, who pored over books in every spare moment. Johnson, like Lincoln, grew up poor. He worked the hardest and most obsessively of all of them and was a true visionary. It’s interesting that each man looked to his predecessors for lessons and learned from those who came before.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Reflection on Dune by Frank Herbert
Since this is just a novel I don’t plan to produce a seriously big reflection. I just wanna say that I read this book and it was great. I found it very engaging and honestly crazy. I am excited to see the movie later this year though I doubt they can recreate all of the third-person omniscient thoughts that Herbert gives the audience. I didn’t know that this book was so based on middle-eastern culture.
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