Where Have All the Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca has to be one of the most disappointing books that I have ever read.
That’s saying a lot. There are a ton of awful books out there, but the worst ones are always those that you least expect.
Perhaps my disappointment was my own fault. I thought the book would talk about the current generation’s lack of leadership, and possibly what should be done about the problem. I thought that Lee Iacocca, the man that made Chrysler an auto-giant would have some good insight into the subject, I mean the man is eighty years old. Silly me. Instead of leadership theory, what Iacocca rambles on about for pages and pages, is President Bush and other leaders who he thinks suck. You can write a commentary on the qualities of todays leaders, in fact many people have, but in order for it to be worth while you have to suggest a solution or at the very least point out the causes. But Iacocca doesn’t deem either necessary.
The book is a basically a rambling personal diatribe. Don’t pay much attention to the title; the book covers Bush, Iacocca’s career, the Chrysler Corp (especially the Chrysler-Daimler merger ), and the problems with the American auto industry. If you are interested in those things (Iacocca’s plan to save American auto manufacturers is worth the price of the book) pick it up. If you were looking for a book on this nations fledgling leadership, look elsewhere.
Finally in order to look at the question I hoped this book would shed some light on: Do you think we have a leadership problem in the United States? What can we do about it?