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A first-rate madness : uncovering the links between leadership and mental illness / Nassir Ghaemi.

by Ghaemi, S. Nassir.

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New York : Penguin Press, 2011.

Depressed persons -- Psychology.

Depression, Mental.

Leadership -- Psychological aspects.

9781594202957 (hardback) :

1594202958 (hardback)

340 p. ; 25 cm.

The inverse law of sanity -- Creativity. Make them fear and dread us: Sherman ; Work like hell and advertise: Turner -- Realism. Heads I win, tails it's chance ; Out of the wilderness: Churchill ; Both read the same Bible: Lincoln -- Empathy. Mirror neuron on the wall ; The woes of Mahatmas: Gandhi ; Psychiatry for the American soul: King -- Resilience. Stronger ; A first-rate temperament: Roosevelt ; Sickness in Camelot: Kennedy -- Treatment. A spectacular psychochemical succcess: Kennedy revisited ; Hitler amok -- Mental Health. Homoclite leaders: Bush, Blair, Nixon, and others ; Stigma and politics.

An investigation into the surprisingly deep correlation between mental illness and successful leadership, as seen through some of history's greatest politicians, generals, and businesspeople. "A First-Rate Madness," Nassir Ghaemi, who runs the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts University Medical Center, draws from the careers and personal plights of such notable leaders as Lincoln, Churchill, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, and others from the past two centuries to build an argument at once controversial and compelling: the very qualities that mark those with mood disorders- realism, empathy, resilience, and creativity-also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. By combining astute analysis of the historical evidence with the latest psychiatric research, Ghaemi demonstrates how these qualities have produced brilliant leadership under the toughest circumstances. Take realism, for instance: study after study has shown that those suffering depression are better than "normal" people at assessing current threats and predicting future outcomes. Looking at Lincoln and Churchill among others, Ghaemi shows how depressive realism helped these men tackle challenges both personal and national. Or consider creativity, a quality psychiatrists have studied extensively in relation to bipolar disorder.

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