Brings together deep historical knowledge, cultural comparison, and sophisticated analysis of what makes leadership and how individual leaders both reflect their society and shape it in turn. This is a book both empathetic and gripping on a subject of huge importance in our turbulent times. -- Rana Mitter, author - Modern China

A thoroughly engaging meditation on a compelling array of individuals who shaped the eras in which they lived. The result is a fascinating, illuminating, and cautionary meditation on leadership. -- Ellen Fitzpatrick, author - The Highest Glass Ceiling

A book chock-full of insights, showing how a careful and unsparing study of past leaders-those who had great power and those who didn't-can help us identify the attributes we need to see in their successors today. -- Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University

A plea for the importance of history in the study of leadership. - Kirkus

This book is that rare thing among 'leadership' titles: a truly original concept. ... A incredibly well-researched and lively read. - Financial Times

Moshik Temkin is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership and History at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, and a fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer in India, South Korea, Spain, Mexico and France, and his books include The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair: America on Trial, which was a finalist for the Cundill History Prize.