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Hearts Touched with Fire
Book

Hearts Touched with Fire

How Great Leaders are Made

David Gergen
Simon & Schuster, 2022
First Edition: 2022

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Even casual students of US history know that Franklin D. Roosevelt lost the ability to walk after contracting polio. Serious scholars know that the devastating illness reshaped his character. In this study of what makes leaders great, veteran White House adviser David Gergen argues that suffering and failure can create turning points that improve a person’s life. FDR was a dilettante before polio, and a master statesman after. Civil rights hero John Lewis forged his identity while enduring racism and police beatings. Devastating personal losses shaped Joe Biden. Gergen offers insights into famous leaders’ life-changing moments and provides valuable leadership counsel, as he did throughout his career as an adviser to George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

Take-Aways

  • Individual leaders play a crucial role in human history.
  • Leadership is forged by the combination of leaders, followers and their context.
  • As a civil rights leader, John Lewis sacrificed his personal safety.

About the Author

Senior political analyst for CNN David Gergen served as a White House adviser to Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. He wrote the New York Times bestseller Eyewitness to Power.

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