Book Review #24
"Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy" by Henry Kissinger dissects six post World War II leaders who rose up from society's lower strata through meritocracy.
Konrad Adenauer - Humility: Elected Chancellor of Germany at its lowest point after World War II, he helped Germany heal by driving Christian ideals and democratic values. His strategy of humility was composed of four elements: accepting the consequences of defeat; regaining the confidence of the victors; building a democratic society; and creating a European federation that would overcome historic divisions. This eventually led to German re-unification and democracy prevailing.
Charles De Gaulle - Will Power: When Germany invaded France in 1940, De Gaulle was a decorated army officer serving as Under Secretary to the French PM. Disagreeing with idea of surrendering he fled to England and resisted the occupation. No one knew him till then, but he won Churchill's confidence as leader of 'Free France' and eventually gets to lead France. Rebuilding the economy, getting women to vote, resolving the Algerian crisis and building universal healthcare he revived France. He even warned Kennedy not to go to Vietnam.
Richard Nixon - Equilibrium: Nixon is infamous due to Watergate but has his share of achievements. China is where it is today, thanks to Nixon reaching out to Mao Zedong to bring them in to the international fold. He played a crucial role in ending the Vietnam war, stopped gold-reserve based backing of US dollar and was at the helm during NASA's moon landing.
Anwar Sadat - Transcendence: This Egyptian President succeeding Nasser, rose from humble backgrounds, went against conventional ideas and almost secured lasting peace in the middle east. He understood the civilizational identity of Egypt and deliberately planned the Yom Kippur war to bring Israel and Syria on the negotiation table and with US help brokered peace. Unfortunately, it did not last due to his assassination by radical Arabs.
Lee Kuan Yew - Excellence: Singapore's founding PM saw his city state expelled from Malaysia and resisted invasion by a covetous Indonesia. Lee set up a system of true meritocracy, invested heavily on education, covertly built a National Service based defense scheme (with Israel) and opened up his country when socialism was the popular model. His vision and knowledge made him an advisor for so many world leaders.
Margaret Thatcher - Conviction: The Iron Lady was Britain's first woman PM who led the country out of severe economic perils privatizing oil, steel, gas and aerospace companies. After recapturing Falkland Islands from Argentina, she brought the idea of engaging Gorbachev ending the cold war and influenced the US approach towards Saddam Hussein that saved Kuwait's sovereignty.
Overall, a great book and Happy 100th birthday Mr. Kissinger on 27th May 2023. It is fun to watch YouTube/Netflix videos to further absorb these life stories.
#history #leadership #bookreview
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