First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

Title: First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness
Author: Nassir Ghaemi
E: 1700939
ISBN: 9780143121336
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 2012
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Reprint
Number of Pages: 340
Section: Psychology | Mental Health
Condition Note: Moderate edge wear. Binding good. May have marking in text. We sometimes source from libraries. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
Publisher Description: The New York Times bestseller

"A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . ." --The Boston Globe

"A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi's book deserves high marks for original thinking." --The Washington Post

"Provocative, fascinating." --Salon.com

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 Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership 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 lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.