Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders [Hardcover]

Ed Ruggero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2001

In this penetrating account of a year inside one of the nation's premier schools for leaders, Ed Ruggero details the struggles of young men and women determined to become the U.S. Army officers who will lead the American soldiers of the future. Writing with deep insight and superb narrative skill, Ruggero follows their tumultuous lives: the initial, gruelling training, the strict student hierarchy and the intense classroom work, and the interaction between the lowly first-year plebes and the upper-class cadets who train them. Ruggero shows the role played by the majors, captains, and sergeants, who oversee everything that happens at this unique institution. By taking a hard look at Academy standards and traditions, he examines the changes in West Point's approach to leadership training that have sparked controversy among its alumni. From the Superintendent's office high above the Hudson River to the hot and humid barracks rooms where America's future captains struggle, Ruggero takes readers on a guided four through the jarring, overwhelming, inspiring leadership school that is West Point.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

West Point isn't just a military academy, writes Ed Ruggero--it's "America's premier leadership school." Or at least it's one of them. Ruggero, a graduate and former faculty member who now specializes in leadership training, went back to his old school for an entire year to figure out how West Point builds leaders. "If the successes of its graduates are any indicator, the Academy's approach offers a template for leader development in and out of the military," he writes. And so Ruggero profiles a cross section of West Pointers, from first-year cadets enduring difficult initiation rites to the school's superintendent overseeing the whole process. Duty First prefers showing to telling: there are more stories and anecdotes on its pages than analysis and discussion. It doesn't offer very many clear-cut lessons that, say, business executives might apply to their own leadership dilemmas. The book is primarily about West Point culture, and Ruggero provides an excellent overview of what the school is really like, with its emphasis on strict discipline, the constant tension between military and academic training, and the supreme importance of beating Navy at the annual football game.

But he is not afraid to criticize an institution he generally admires: "The culture is not one that encourages cadets to excel in any one thing; instead, they are conditioned to handle multiple tasks. The result is an education that, some critics say, lacks depth. With so much on their plates, some cadets learn how to get by with minimum effort in many areas." He also wonders whether the cadets are "too isolated from their civilian peers." After just a few months of training, they begin to see others as "unmotivated, slovenly, fat, and lazy.... [As a result] some cadets are ill-suited to relate to the young soldiers they will lead." Despite this, Ruggero finds much that is good at West Point: "The [cadets] who learn their lessons well will succeed in and out of uniform." Duty First will find an audience among readers interested in leadership formation, and, perhaps especially, among high school students thinking about enrolling, as well as their parents. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist Ruggero tries to explain precisely what makes the United States Military Academy, better known as West Point, a breeding ground for future leaders. He should know: not only is Ruggero a graduate, he taught English literature there for several years and has written a novel, The Academy, set at the school. By following a handful of cadets through their first year, Ruggero approaches anecdotally the attributes that set West Point apart and presents a variety of viewpoints on sticky subjects like the demanding honor code. At the outset, Ruggero, who co-authored the army's field manual on leadership, acknowledges that the academy's approach to teaching leadership is experiential rather than scientific. In an early training exercise, first-year cadets are required to enter a building filled with tear gas and remove their masks. According to Ruggero, the exercise is designed to take the cadets outside their "comfort zone," helping them to develop self-confidence and character. While West Point undeniably fosters fierce loyalty in many of its graduates, Ruggero makes clear that the experience is not for everyone. The military life is five parts tedium to one part excitement: "For every hour a soldier spends in the field, he or she will spend two or three hours cleaning and repairing field equipment." The minute attention to details of dress, etiquette and hierarchy may make for good soldiers, but they do so at a cost. At least as portrayed by Ruggero, the cadets come up strikingly short in self-awareness and intellectual curiosity, despite the fact that they are expected to lead others at an early age. But then, that may be the point. In presenting the question of how to develop leaders, Ruggero offers a balanced portrayal of West Point by a true insider that is likely to become required reading for incoming cadets much the way that Scott Turow's One L has for aspiring Harvard law school students.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (January 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060193174
• ISBN-13: 978-0060193171
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Following graduation from West Point, Ed was commissioned in the United States Army and served as an infantry officer in a variety of positions, including an assignment teaching at West Point. Following his service, Ed pursued a career as an author and public speaker, engaging audiences around the world in discussions on leadership and leader development. He also leads a Gettysburg and a Normandy Leadership Experience, where participants walk the ground of these great struggles to learn battle-tested leadership lessons that will help them meet their own challenges. Ed lives in Wallingford, Pennsylvania with his wife, Marcia Noa and a bunch of dogs. For more information, see www.edruggero.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars so-so, April 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders (Hardcover)

Really didn't grab me. The author takes us on a whirlwind tour of West Point, but I was never really captivated. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't recommend this book

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Family of Eric Roderick- the cadet who died., June 28, 2001

By 

Amy Roderick (Columbus, Oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders (Hardcover)

While vacationing in Florida this past March, I walked into a book store and came face to face with this book. It caught my attention because it was referencing the year my brother was supposed to graduate from West Point. Mr. Ruggero felt comfortable writing about my brother's death. He felt comfortable enough to describe my brother as a "thrill seeker". He felt comfortable enough about this issue to put it into print for the entire nation to read without every letting anyone in Eric's family know.

While Mr.Ruggero's book was very informative he seems to have left some important information out. He didn't write about Eric's trip to the Dominican Republic to do volunteer work. He didn't write about how Eric said goodnight to every cadet in his room before he fell asleep. He didn't write about how Eric wanted to become a doctor to help people in underprivleged areas get adequate health care. He didn't write about the brothers, sisters, and friends that were so proud of Eric's accolmplishments it made them try harder to be better people. He didn't write alot.

No one knows why Eric jumped off that bridge. No one can fathum how he didn't consider that he might die. But did they ever think that becoming a officer that was trained at West Point carried alot of responsibility? Did they ever think that in times of war people really do die-it's not like the exercises at West Point? Did Mr. Ruggero know that Eric would never ask anyone to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself?

I'm sorry I forgot, There were a few nice things said about Eric. That did seem to raise the drama factor when Mr.Ruggero wrote about his death. Next book- keep our family in mind. Eric has a younger brother who just joined the Air Force. I'm sure we can work something out.

Sincerely,

Amy Roderick

53 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Necessary, May 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders (Hardcover)

The book is well written/edited, probably a tribute to our West Point education. But unfortunately, like too many other fellow West Pointers, the author was grasping at straws to come up with what resulted in a conspicuously unnecessary, unimportant book to make money off the backs of our alma mater, cadets, and college applicants. It is 10% substance that has been stretched into book length using 90% boring minutia that would discourage any applicant from considering attending West Point. And it all is immediately becoming obsolete as West Point continually evolves and improves. Good effort, bad, bad idea.