Where Have All the Leaders Gone? [Paperback]

Lee Iacocca (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 15, 2008

Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?

The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address:

• What is each of us giving back to our country?

• Do we truly love democracy?

• Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?

• Why is America addicted to oil?

• Do we really care about our children's futures?

• Who will save the middle class?

A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis -- such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else -- among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations -- and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.

Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously doesn't mince words and offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, and John Edwards.

Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.

Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.

Where have all the leaders gone?

Lee Iacocca has the answer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Iacocca, the bestselling author and former president of Ford and Chrysler, is back to sound a howl of anger against the sad state of leadership in the U.S. today. Iacocca starts with a rundown of sins committed by George W. Bush and his administration, and then moves on to criticize the American auto industry-naturally, he's furious over over the sale of Chrysler to Daimler-Benz. Along the way, Iacocca rails against the lack of leadership in vital national concerns such as health care, open markets and energy policy. Iacocca may not have a whole lot new to say, but he is always engaging, even when spinning his wheels over the current crop of presidential hopefuls or recommending that Congress take a year off from enacting laws or spending money. The book's strength lies in Iacocca's emotional honesty, which shines when he details the reasons he passed on a Presidential run, how he felt when his wife died and his frustration at the poor decisions he's made during his retirement (fessing up to voting for Bush in 2000 and handpicking the executive who sold Chrysler to the Germans). Iacocca is a genial person to spend time with, but his insights no longer carry the weight that made his autobiography, Iacocca, a runaway bestseller.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Iacocca is outraged. Now 82, he has seen the U.S. overcome some of its worst crises, including the Great Depression and World War II, through great leadership. As the CEO of Chrysler Corporation, he brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy and worked with the government to overcome the fallout from the 1970s oil crisis. Now, he says, our government has fallen under the grip of arrogant ideologues and spineless detractors. Our business leaders are more obsessed with stock options and trumping each other's multimillion-dollar salaries than with finding creative solutions to pressing problems, such as the health-care crisis, our loss of competitive edge in the global marketplace, the massive trade deficit, and the slow death of the middle class. He describes his frustration as his successor at Chrysler sold out to Daimler-Benz, and the once proud, independent company lost its soul. Although Iacocca presents a brutal analysis of cronyism in Washington, D.C., the abysmal situation in Iraq, and failed policies at home, he is not a pessimist. With a reputation as a straight shooter, he hopes to inspire more young people to vote. This is a surprisingly outspoken take on the pressing need for real leadership in this country. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; Reprint edition (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416532498
• ISBN-13: 978-1416532491
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (338 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Iacocca is the former president of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation and a bestselling author. He spends his time traveling, giving speeches, and supporting the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

191 of 203 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Societal Insights From a Great Leader! April 19, 2007

By Loyd E. Eskildson HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

Iacocca comes out with both guns blazing from page one, and never stops til the last page. Iacocca provides readers with a clear, concise summary of our major problems - escalating healthcare costs and deficits, a border that is a sieve, an energy crisis, losing manufacturing to Asia, leadership that doesn't face these key issues (instead the Senate debates flag-burning for three days, while giving no time to Iacocca's concerns), and a President given a free pass to ignore the Constitution and tap our phones after leading us to war on a pack of lies.

Iacocca then goes on to provide clear and credible recommendations for each of these problems, and along the way offers his own framework (eg. curiosity, creative, courage, competent, common sense) for describing/evaluating leadership and then uses that framework to succinctly assess Bush II and the major candidates vying to take his place.

Another major "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" suggestion is that Congress take a year off and pass no new legislation - instead evaluate programs that already exist. Iacocca points out that the "War on Drugs" has consumed about $1 trillion, while little, if anything has been accomplished. And what has been accomplished, he asks, of maintaining an on-going decades-long feud with Castro?

The "bad news" is that Iacocca once considered running for President, but was talked out of it by then House Speaker (and friend) Tip O'Neill. O'Neill told Iacocca that the job would drive him nuts - too hard to get anything done (basically the same comment President Truman offered then General Eisenhower). Nonetheless, the "good news" is that Iacocca's lessons in leadership skills couldn't help but be invaluable to moving America forward.

67 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this book. April 18, 2007

By Kevin Cahill

Format:Hardcover

Every American should read this book. Lee Iacocca is a hero to those who worked for Chrysler during the 1970-1990 period -- and to those who held its stock during those years. He persuaded Congress to lend $10 billion to the company, and then paid back every dime.

Now he criticizes the Bush administration, the Democrats, the young, and the rest of us -- and he is absolutely right in every respect. Bush is a disaster; the Democrats have no courage; the young are over-entertained; and the rest of us fail to demand that our political leaders lead us in sensible directions.

69 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars National Enema With Wit and Character April 27, 2007

By Robert David STEELE Vivas HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book earns my vote for top transpartisan book of the decade, along with "All Rise" (see link below). This great man is saying things that I and others have been saying since 2000, but because of his stature, we now finally have the national enema that we all need. Lee Iacocca, in my personal view, should link up with Reuniting America, and volunteer to form a Sunshine Cabinet of transpartisan retired leaders (corporate, military, law enforcement, education, and others). We need to show America that it is possible to create a balanced sustainable budget, and to have common sense priorities.

The book opens with a discussion of the nine C's of leadership: Curiosity, Creativity, Communicator, Character, Courage, Conviction, Charisma, Competency, and Common Sense. In evaluating the current crop of candidates for President, all fail with the exception of Joe Biden for President and John Edwards for Vice President.

He stresses people and prioities, and for the first time in any book I have read, he calls for all presidential candidates to appoint their Cabinet BEFORE the election so the people can evaluate the team and not just the Man. This is something I have advocated since 2000, see the original documents at Citizens-Party.org.

His comments on Bush-Cheney cronism are devastatingly on the mark. He points out that the insider game excludes top talent.

He finds Congress to be failing at the five top issues for all Americans: Iraq, Jobs, Health Care, Education, and Energy.

He is critical of the Executive for telling lies to get a war with Iraq, for condoning torture, and for being reactive instead of proactive....

To make his point, he notes that for what we have spent in Iraq, we could have instead hired 8 million teachers, 8 million police, fire, and medical support specialists; funded 25M college scholarships, and given every citizen a year of free gas and health care.

In criticizing the Iraq strategy, he points out that unlike Gulf I, there are no Arab nations in the coalition this time, and that is the truth-teller. He specifically laments the loss of "America the Good" in the eyes of the world.

Among the top issues he personally focuses on in the book are Energy, Fair Trade vice Free Trade, restoration of moral capitalism and an end to the CEO looting of companies at the expense of workers; the protection of the middle class, the reduction of medical (and I would add, educational) bureaucracies, and the US brain gap--South Korea, Japan, and Singapore are getting a reverse brain drain from the US, as well as training their own better than we are.

He slams James Carville for representing the worst of the structured political process, where a candidate is told what their policies will be based on political consultants and focus groups.

The book closes with a discussion of four traits he learned from others: Optimism; Common Sense; Discipline; and--from his mother--Love.

At the end, he calls America to action, asking each of us to give something up, put something back in, and elect a LEADER.

I do NOT agree with those who are critical of either the author or the book. This is an easy to read totally straight-up book that is now, along with "All Rise" and "The Tao of Democracy" among my top-rated Transpartisan books. See my varied lists on Transpartisan, democracy, immoral capitalism, impeachment of Cheney, etc.

If he will help form a Sunshine Cabinet, and Reuniting America can raise $500M a year ($20 from 25 million Americans, or $100 from 5 million Americans) we can close down the Republican and Democratic partisan machines that have corrupted our democracy, and we can restore informed engaged democracy. We need this man's common sense now more than ever.

All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity (BK Currents)
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People Read more ›

103 of 125 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish Mr Iacocca wrote this book before the last election! April 18, 2007

By Jeffrey Capshew

Format:Hardcover

He is right on, I agree with almost everything he says about our leaders. They are either arrogant, ignorant, cowardly, or a combination of all three. Worst of all, we are not being led by noble altruists who really care about our country or the world. We are lied to Bush et al, and the Democrats have not challenged them forcefully enough. Lee Iacocca is real life example of what a leader should be, not the partisan hacks we elected for and must rid ourselves in less than 2 years. Read this book and get justifiably angry. We should be screaming mad.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Give 'Em Hell, Mr. Iacocca! April 22, 2007

By Thriller Lover VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

For those who don't know, Lee Iacocca is the former CEO of Chrysler, and played a large role in rescuing that company from the brink of financial disaster. This book, his first in a decade, is an enjoyable collection of his thoughts on politics, the auto industry, and a wide variety of other subjects.

Iacocca is 82 now, and is very blunt and colorful in his opinions. He has a very poor opinion of President Bush, who he describes as a "clueless bozo" who lacks the leadership qualities to be a good President. Fans of the Bush administration will probably not like this book, but keep in mind that Iacocca is a political independent who has supported both Democrats and Republicans in the past. In fact, Iacocca endorsed Bush in 2000 and recently supported the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan in the last election. So he is hardly a knee-jerk partisan. Either way, I found his political observations both entertaining and illuminating.

I also found Iacocca's opinions of the auto industry to be interesting. He strongly believes that Detroit should now be building smaller cars. He applauds GM for dumping the Oldsmobile brand and wonders why they haven't done the same thing with the Saturn brand yet. Iacocca also has a very poor opinion of the Daimer-Benz/Chrysler merger, and has sharp words for his CEO successor, Bob Eaton. It's all very fascinating stuff.

All in all, this is a fun, no-nonsense book by a man unafraid to speak his mind. It's a nice antidote to the slick talking heads on cable tv.