|
print this page (PC only)
close window
|
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Programme at Tufts Medical Center, offers and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: the very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's "depressive realism" to the lacklustre leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind. “A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders… A First-Rate Madness is carefully plotted and sensibly argued.” — BOSTON GLOBE “Ghaemi isn’t the first to claim that madness is a close relative of genius, or even the first to extend the idea into politics. But he does go further than others… His explanations are elegant, too—intuitively accurate and banked off the latest psychiatric research.” — NEWSWEEK “A provocative thesis… Ghaemi’s book deserves high marks for original thinking.” –THE WASHINGTON POST “Ghaemi is a remarkably disciplined writer, and he examines both psychiatry and history with impressive clarity and sensitivity. A First-Rate Madness will almost certainly be one of the most fascinating books of the year, not just because of the author's lucid prose and undeniable intelligence, but because of his provocative thesis: "For abnormal challenges, abnormal leaders are needed."” --NPR.ORG “Provocative, fascinating.” –SALON.COM Introduction: The Inverse Law of Sanity Part One Creativity CHAPTER ONE Make Them Fear and Dread Us: Sherman CHAPTER TWO Work Like Hell—And Advertise: Turner Part Two Realism CHAPTER THREE Heads I Win, Tails It's Chance CHAPTER FOUR Out of the Wilderness: Churchill CHAPTER FIVE Both Read the Same Bible: Lincoln Part Three Empathy CHAPTER SIX Mirror Neuron on the Wall CHAPTER SEVEN The Woes of Mahatmas: Gandhi CHAPTER EIGHT Psychiatry for the American Soul: King Part Four Resilience CHAPTER NINE Stronger CHAPTER TEN A First-Rate Temperament: Roosevelt CHEPATER ELEVEN Sickness in Camelot: Kennedy Part Five Treatment CHAPTER TWELVE A Spectacular Psychochemical Success: Kennedy Revisited CHAPTER THIRTEEN Hitler Amok Part Six Mental Health CHAPTER FOURTEEN Homoclite Leaders: Bush, Blair, Nixon, and Others CHAPTER FIFTEEN Stigma and Politics Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Visit our Penguin Brand Sites
         
© 1995 - Penguin Books Ltd Registered Number: 861590 England 
|
||||||||||||||||
