Customer Reviews

Profiles of Power & Success: Fourteen Geniuses Who Broke the Rules

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This is another in a series of "Profiles of...." volumes in each of which Landrum focuses on exceptional men and women who have achieved great success after having overcome all manner of barriers, obstacles, and adversities. I was especially interested in this book because of the diversity of the 14 subjects examined: Napoleon Bonaparte, Walt Disney, Isadora Duncan, Amelia Earhart, Adolph Hitler, Howard Hughes, Maria Montessori, Rupert Murdoch, Edith Piaf, Pablo Picasso, Helena Rubenstein, Marquis de Sade, Nikola Tesla (more about him in a moment), and Frank Lloyd Wright. Let's pretend. What if you were asked to compile a list of those to be invited to a private dinner and you came up with these 14. Let's assume that there would be no language barriers and each was in her or his prime. What a lively evening that would be! Hopefully all of the guests would survive it.

With regard to Tesla (1856-1943), frankly I knew nothing about him until reading this book. According to Landrum, Tesla was "arguably the greatest inventive genius who ever lived. Some called him mad, others a genius, but everyone agreed that he was an enigmatic superman." His achievements include AC induction motors, first wireless (radio) transmission, fluorescent lights, solar engine, Tesla coil, VTOL, and concepts which led to the electron microscope, cosmic rays, guided missiles, and radar. He also predicted (in 1915) the inevitability of television and space satellites, with one of countless benefits being television reception via satellite. Given Tesla's obsessive-compulsive and megalomaniac behavior, he was presumably not always a pleasant fellow to be associated with but none can deny his importance in so many fields of scientific inquiry.

This is a thoroughly entertaining as well as an immensely informative book. Landrum devotes a separate chapter to each of "the fourteen geniuses who broke the rules." I especially appreciate his inclusion of 25 "Figures" which range from "Manic Achievers and Power Brokers" to "Twelve Principles of Instilling Creativity in Children." Great stuff.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Landrum's Profiles of Genius, Profiles of Female Genius, and Entrepreneurial Genius as well as Howard Gardner's Leading Minds: An Anatomy Of Leadership and Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi.

Today, about half way through this book I closed the cover and put the book away. I purchased the book to read about qualities of successful people - interested in role models.

Along with successful qualities, the overreaching message I am getting from this author is the qualities that made the person successful also contributed to the persons self destruction. It is as if the author hand selected people who he could destruct once he wrote about their positive qualities.

If you are looking for a book that talks of people who are positive role models then look elsewhere. This book is depressing, grotesque at points, gives too much information about the negative of these folks - I'm not sure what the authors definition of success is - self destruction is not in my definition of success AND I am certain there are successful people who do not self destruct and destroy themselves.

It is rare I don't finish a book. This one was sickening.

Good read but not necessarily accurate. Nikola Tesla was ripped off by Edison after Tesla created the AC system of power distribution. This contradicts the title and purpose of the book. Better titled "Profiles of Brilliance". Overall though a facinating book with insight into some very smart people.

Author hand picked the profiles in order to validate his own feelings regarding what makes a person great. Most very powerful figures do not fit into the mold cast by Landrum.
Although there are some interesting quotes and stories, Landrum rambles and goes off topic frequently. I would not recommend this book.