Customer Reviews

A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book could easily be subtitled, "Stories from my life and the lessons they teach," for that is the basic structure of the book. In chronological order, except for the Preface, in which he relates the incident in which he was wounded in Viet Nam, Gen. Clark tells stories of his life and then completes each chapter with the lessons those stories have taught him--lessons for life and lessons on leadership. The final chapter applies those lessons to articulate a vision for America, for governance, and a path to follow for the 21st century.

Most of the stories he tells will be familiar to the avid Clark supporter community, but we've never heard them in his own words before, and in some cases in as much detail. The personal touch and the insights he provides bring the stories alive in his straightforward--dare I say simple?--language. It's an easy read, but the message is deep, but not complex.

If there was any disappointment in my reading of the book is that he downplays his own achievements, accomplishments, and uniqueness as a public servant, soldier, scholar, and leader. While his brilliance shines through the prose, he goes out of his way to avoid making him the star of the narrative. For example, his account of the Mt. Igman tragedy in Bosnia leaves out the danger and personal risk he undertook in making his rescue attempt. And there are almost too-casual mentions of his being number one in his class at West Point and his selection as a Rhodes Scholar. He omits altogether the praise that has been lavished on him in his formal Army evaluations and in other, less formal ways.

His mission in writing the book was to teach. The stories are necessary to understand the significant events in his life that have shaped who he is, led him to his beliefs, developed his character, and instilled the principles that guide him still. Extracting the leadership lessons from the stories and putting them all in one place could be used as the basis for a day-long seminar on principled leadership.

I didn't get the impression that he was touting his own leadership traits or promoting himself for his own purposes. Rather, I think he was hoping that others would internalize the lessons he teaches and adopt the same principles. He seems to think that the country has a dearth of such leaders and would like to develop more of them in all walks of life.

Readers of Clark's third book should enjoy it at at least two levels: the stories themselves as a compelling and often poignant narrative, and the points to ponder in developing leaders to take America to the places she should go in the future.

I read this book in only two sittings because I was anxious to see how a man who faced some severe challenges as a child and almost died in Vietnam could go on to become a great leader and American hero. It is a wonderful story of commitment and love of country as well as the lifetime love of one woman.

I TOTALLY DISAGREE with the snarky last sentence of the Publisher Weekly review (at the top). In fact, I am giving copies of this book to my younger friends and family members who truly want to do something with their lives, but don't exactly know what that might be or how to go about it. This isn't to say that the book is a recipe for how to become a 4 Star General or something as spectacular, but rather how to experiement with one's strengths (and weaknesses) and the focus on the goals that emerge from such a journey. Perhaps without being fully aware of it, Clark gives hints for all of us about how to be the best we can be, and reveals more about himself than I was expecting. The road isn't always easy. There will be setbacks. But one just keeps at it, and success can be the outcome.

I loved this inspiring book.

Wes Clark has lead a life that could only be described as extraordinary. From growing up in Arkansas, to West point, to Oxford, The bloody fields of Vietnam to the halls of Washington and everywhere in between. This book gives an inspiring account of how one man from humble origins and a will to achieve went from a poor, small town boy to one of the most decorated Military leaders in modern history. This book is practically a manual on leadership. Whether you are in to politics or not, you should get this book. You cannot read this without being inspired, and hopeful for the future of this country.

"A Time To Lead" is a must read for anyone who cares about our government and is interested in the future. The stories that Wes Clark tells will make you laugh, tremble, and hope. This is a man who has truly lived a life of sacrifice and service and it is a breath of fresh air to read the memoirs of someone who has actually walked the walk. Clark's voice has brought reason to our national dialog and I hope that his message of reason over rage continues to spread in this nation and throughout the world.

General Clark has written a book about his own life, about America and about leadership. Presumably, the project had begun as a presidential campaign biography but then was redirected somewhat when the decision was taken not to run for president this year. Predictably, then, the book is a bit of a hodgepodge, but, in the end, it works.

Especially interesting for me were the insights into General Clark's own sometimes conflicting thoughts about the military that is so central to his life. I was struck by similarities to people who despite their deep religious convictions nevertheless must sometimes struggle with their spirituality. While Clark's overriding faith in and support for the U.S. military are unwavering, he has faced times in his life when he has agonized over whether or not American military power and soldiers are being used and treated properly (and if not what, if anything, can be done about it). It would be difficult for a thinking and feeling soldier to have come through the Vietnam experience as he did without having to work through questions of that sort. In reading these and other reflections, the reader observes Clark's humanity, caring, multidimensionality and depth. Leadership, we learn, is a lot about caring, and it means taking responsibility (and sometimes truly huge responsibility) for other people. General Clark takes that caring and that responsibility very seriously. There is nothing cavalier in this soldier's personality.

As an admirer of General Clark, I enjoyed learning more about the man through his book. As an entrepreneur striving through inexhaustible challenges to build a strong and cohesive team and direct it to a collective goal, I found both leadership lessons and inspiration. As an American who is deeply concerned about the tragic direction in which our country has been led thus far into the new millennium, General Clark's book gives me reason to believe that America can do better and be much better led. It also offers substantial elements of a strategy for making both America and the world at large a more prosperous, peaceful and safer place.

Rather than rehash other reviewers' comments, let me refer you to pages 182 and 183, where Wesley Clark reports a warning he received from Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia to not have NATO become an occupying power in the Balkans because occupying powers "do not do well here." Instead, the dictator urged the U.S. and its allies to "treat people with respect." After the conversation, Clark reflected on his military and negotiating experiences and decided the principles of power politics among nations "had to be exercised through personal relationships. Ultimately, diplomacy wasn't about trade-offs; it was about persuasion. To succeed, you had to link the calculus of cost and benefits to charm, new opportunities and the promise of a better tomorrow. Success was 90 percent persuasion, backed up by 10 percent coercion." He adds: "If force was to be used, it was to be used only as a last resort, and even then alongside allies, if possible." As I finished reading this book on Oct. 20, 2007, a day when the Bush Administration's drumbeats for war with Iran continued to accelerate, I couldn't help but wish Americans had elected Clark or someone like him in 2004. I had the same thought in nearly every chapter of the general's combination biography and expression of lessons he's learned from going to war, listening to others, weighing alternatives and then making or recommending decisions. Listening and weighing alternatives before deciding is a foreign concept for the man Garrison Keillor refers to as "Current Occupant." I fear it will plunge us even deeper into the Middle Eastern abyss. Wesley Clark is an American treasure, and the nation should tap his wisdom, judgment and talents as soon as possible. We need leaders like him.

In my survey of contemporary generals, Wesley Clark stands out as the greatest thinker by far. He's the fourth general I've listened to in an audiobook and all of them were readers of their own books. I discovered the U.S. is blessed with outstanding military leaders.

Our great contemporary military leaders came from humble circumstances, unlike the majority of political leaders that rise to the top. Wesley Clark came from humble beginnings but was a star student and swimmer. He attended West Point and his description of plebe year made me understand the suffering and challenges of getting through that first year. He was also a Rhodes scholar and returned to West Point as a professor. He published significant articles in his time in the Army and served in many capacities that provided a great deal of exposure to geopolitics.

Clark spoke fast in this audiobook, very fast. It's as if his mind runs at a faster speed than normal. But he showed a lot of personality in his reading. His speech wasn't rigidly military as some others are.

There were many geopolitical matters of which Wesley educated me in this book. For example, the lessons our military learned in Viet Nam have never been explained to me so well and so authoritatively. He knows his subjects so well that his speech is perfectly fluent. His explanation of the situation the U.S. found itself in after the collapse of the Soviet Union were profound and made so much sense that it gave me many 'aha moments.'

Even with this incredible mind, Clark was a man of action too. His stories of running the war in Kosovo for the U.S. and NATO showed this. This man suffered the deaths of many friends and comrades over his long career, anchoring him in the practical world despite his academic accomplishments.

Regarding his account of the War in Iraq conducted by the adiministration of George W. Bush, Clark was able to reduce the entire explanation into the simplest form so that even an eigth-grader could understand. This was brilliant. I had been searching for meaning and lessons for this war that persists. It's been very difficult for me because I sensed we as a country had lost our winning ways but could not reduce it to words. Clark explains how the U.S. went in, playing NOT TO WIN, which is odd. This was due to a combination of mistrust of the professional military, egos, greed, lack of long-term strategy and a view that soldiers were expendible when they operated as a local police force in a language they could not understand. There was a need to time the war for elections cycles and control media reporting to the American People.

Because of the percieved need for man of principle to mitigate the damages and try to repair strained alliances, Clarck got drafted to run for president. He started his campaign too late and quit once it was apparent that Kerry was going to be the lead Democratic candidiate. This was prudent at the time especially since nobody then could have imagined Kerry allowing himself to get Swift-Boated.

This book made me stronly desire Clark to make a comeback and play some sighificant role again in American Public Life even if only as a CNN Special Correspondent. I believe he is an American Treasure (that's even higher than his highest rank held).

A TIME TO LEAD: An attention consuming narration of deeply studied soldier's experiences. General Clark projects a timely view of global political geography and the thrills of war action as if on a giant IMAX screen. He does so with appreciation-filled details commemorating all -- the fortunate survivors, the fallen, the injured, and the suffering civilians.
Surely, we, the citizens protected by millions of the military's tedious work hours dedicated beyond gun battles to stopping violence and building consensus, have a cornucopia of reasons for being proud and supportive of the United States military. Perhaps, we can support it best by taking fair and peaceful footsteps in our personal pathways.

With all of the failed leadership going on in America today I found Wesley's book refreshing. I'm encouraging my two sons to read this book because Mr. Clark is a Great leader to look up to and learn from. If we had more leaders like Wesley, America would still be a great country.

Given the book's fantastic title, I wanted to love--or at least like--it. But I couldn't. It reads like a "just-the-facts-black-and-white" chronology of Clark's life, which the authors tried to warm up and add emotion to using cut-and-paste poetic descriptions (out of character with the rest of the writing), too many empty words--like brave, courageous, warrior, hero--and awkwardly tacked-on "lessons" about leadership.

It's clear Clark has more than enough credentials and experience to back up his admirable convictions; unfortunately, a memoir with an agenda is an ineffective format for expressing them. I suggest he'll make a stonger impact if he sticks to writing topical essays backed up by personal experience.