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A first-rate madness : uncovering the links between leadership and mental illness / Nassir Ghaemi.

By: Publication details: New York : Penguin Press, 2011.Description: 340 p. ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9781594202957 (hardback)
  • 1594202958 (hardback)
  • 9780143121336
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 303.3/4019 22
LOC classification:
  • RC537 .G479 2011
NLM classification:
  • 2011 I-404
  • WM 171
  • WM 171
Contents:
The inverse law of sanity -- Creativity. Make them fear and dread us: Sherman ; Work like hell and advertise: Turner -- Realism. Heads I win, tails it's chance ; Out of the wilderness: Churchill ; Both read the same Bible: Lincoln -- Empathy. Mirror neuron on the wall ; The woes of Mahatmas: Gandhi ; Psychiatry for the American soul: King -- Resilience. Stronger ; A first-rate temperament: Roosevelt ; Sickness in Camelot: Kennedy -- Treatment. A spectacular psychochemical succcess: Kennedy revisited ; Hitler amok -- Mental Health. Homoclite leaders: Bush, Blair, Nixon, and others ; Stigma and politics.
Summary: "A First-Rate Madness" shows how mania inspired General Sherman and Ted Turner to design and execute their most creative-and successful-strategies. Ghaemi's thesis is both robust and expansive; he even explains why eminently sane men like Neville Chamberlain and George W. Bush made such poor leaders. Though sane people are better shepherds in good times, sanity can be a severe liability in moments of crisis. A lifetime without the cyclical torment of mood disorders, Ghaemi explains, can leave one ill equipped to endure dire straits. He also clarifies which kinds of insanity-like psychosis-make for despotism and ineptitude, sometimes on a grand scale. Ghaemi's bold, authoritative analysis offers powerful new tools for determining who should lead us. But perhaps most profoundly, he encourages us to rethink our view of mental illness as a purely negative phenomenon. As "A First-Rate Madness" makes clear, the most common types of insanity can confer vital benefits on individuals and society at large-however high the price for those who endure these illnesses"--Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The inverse law of sanity -- Creativity. Make them fear and dread us: Sherman ; Work like hell and advertise: Turner -- Realism. Heads I win, tails it's chance ; Out of the wilderness: Churchill ; Both read the same Bible: Lincoln -- Empathy. Mirror neuron on the wall ; The woes of Mahatmas: Gandhi ; Psychiatry for the American soul: King -- Resilience. Stronger ; A first-rate temperament: Roosevelt ; Sickness in Camelot: Kennedy -- Treatment. A spectacular psychochemical succcess: Kennedy revisited ; Hitler amok -- Mental Health. Homoclite leaders: Bush, Blair, Nixon, and others ; Stigma and politics.

"A First-Rate Madness" shows how mania inspired General Sherman and Ted Turner to design and execute their most creative-and successful-strategies. Ghaemi's thesis is both robust and expansive; he even explains why eminently sane men like Neville Chamberlain and George W. Bush made such poor leaders. Though sane people are better shepherds in good times, sanity can be a severe liability in moments of crisis. A lifetime without the cyclical torment of mood disorders, Ghaemi explains, can leave one ill equipped to endure dire straits. He also clarifies which kinds of insanity-like psychosis-make for despotism and ineptitude, sometimes on a grand scale. Ghaemi's bold, authoritative analysis offers powerful new tools for determining who should lead us. But perhaps most profoundly, he encourages us to rethink our view of mental illness as a purely negative phenomenon. As "A First-Rate Madness" makes clear, the most common types of insanity can confer vital benefits on individuals and society at large-however high the price for those who endure these illnesses"--Provided by publisher.

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