Leadership (Paperback)

by James M. Burns (Author) "We search eagerly for leadership yet seek to cage and tame it..." (more)
Key Phrases: transcending leadership, parliamentary party leadership, transforming leadership, United States, White House, Franklin Roosevelt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...An impressive book. Although Burns is sophisticated about the frailties of people, Leadership is also an optimistic book..." -- Walter Johnson, The Washington Post

"...an important book..." -- Kenneth B. Clark, City News

Product Description
One of America's leading historians on the role of leadership in American history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics; 1 edition (November 9, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061319759
• ISBN-13: 978-0061319754
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,130 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cornerstone of leadership literature, February 11, 2002

By	Daniel Wilson "callistoconsulting" (Huntington Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This is the definitive book on leadership. It is long, dense with historical facts, sparkling with insights, and is essential reading for the leadership scholar. Few other leadership books merit a place on the essential reading list for this field.

Burns's accomplishment of recognizing the taxonomy of leadership is unmatched to this day. He distinguishes, for example, intellectual leadership from executive leadership, and explains how each is forged in the "crucible" of circumstances.

Rather than serving as a "how to" guide on leadership, Burns provides the reader with a framework for understanding his or her leadership role, and the requirements that accompany each role. Finding one's own reflection in this catalog of leadership roles can be an exciting and satisfying moment for the reader.

Burns is best known for developing the concept of "transforming" leadership, or "transformational" leadership as he calls it in this book. It stands in contrast to "transactional" leadership, which holds that every leader-follower encounter is an isolated event.

Whether the reader perseveres through the whole book, or just reads the introductory chapters, he or she will be in the presence of some of the best thinking to date on leadership.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership: an analysis study, November 23, 2005

By	Kimberly M. Gay - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The world of leadership is examined through a sweeping assessment on its power and purpose to its origins in James MacGregor Burns's book, Leadership. This book is a very comprehensive overview of the study of leadership as it distinguishes not only what are the two basic styles of leadership: transforming and transactional, but evaluates the theory and practice of leadership skills as well. Burns stated in Leadership, "I define leadership as leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations¬-the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations-of both leaders and followers" (19).
Throughout the book, Burns discussed the leadership styles of political leaders to religious and social leaders. From Martin Luther King, Jr to Moses to Mahatma Gandhi to Napoleon, plus Machiavelli and even Adolf Hitler, Burns cited how these leaders made vital distinctions between wants and needs. According to Burns, "the process of leadership must be seen as part of the dynamics of conflict and of power; that leadership is nothing if not linked to collective purpose; that the effectiveness of leaders must be judged not by their press clippings but by actual social change measured by intent and by the satisfaction of human needs and expectations" (3).

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The MUST book on leadership., February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This book is THE classic, set-the-bar book on leadership. Professor Burns has produced a masterful, beautifully written, historically based view of leadership behavior. In this book, he first introduces his idea of 'transforming leadership.' Now in his 80s, he is Senior Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at University of Maryland. A true classic.....