A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

(Paperback)

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Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike- Napolean, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis- The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's 'depressive realism' to the lacklustre leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind. Gharmi isn't the first to claim that madness is a close relative of genius, or even the first to extend the idea into politics. But he does go further than others . . . His explanations are elegant, too-intuitively accurate and banked off the latest psychiatric research.' Newsweek 'A provovative thesis . . . Ghaemi's book deserves high marks for original thinking.' The Washington Post

Reviews

Ghaemi isn't the first to claim that madness is a close relative of genius, or even the first to extend the idea into politics. But he does go further than others...His explanations are elegant, too - intuitively accurate and banked off the latest psychiatric research. * Newsweek *
A First-Rate Madness is a sophisticated work of psychology, but it is also a gossipy work of celebrity history, a who's who of the eminently unhinged. * The New York Observer *

Author Bio

Dr. Nassir Ghaemi is a professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and the director of the Mood Disorders Programme at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He trained in psychiatry at, and also serves on the faculty of, Harvard University's Medical School, and has degrees in history, philosophy and public health. Visit nassirghaemi.com.