Shelfology Book Pairing

An Antidote to Chaos

by Jordan B. Peterson

What's refreshing about Peterson is his brutal common sense' Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph `Everyone must read 12 Rules For Life, by Jordan B. Peterson. It is the most enlightening book I have read in ages. Google him if you like, if it makes you feel better. It will, by the way. His YouTube lectures are amazing for all sorts of reasons. But get the book, that is the most important thing. And then read it. And then pass it on to a friend, or even better, an enemy' Chris Evans

Political Leadership in the Modern Age

by Archie Brown

In this magisterial and wide-ranging survey of political leadership over the past hundred years, Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that strong leaders âe" those who dominate their colleagues and the policy-making process âe" are the most successful and admirable. Within authoritarian regimes, a more collective leadership is a lesser evil compared with personal dictatorship where cultivation of the myth of the strong leader is often a prelude to oppression and carnage. Within democracies, although âe~strong leadersâe(tm) are seldom as strong or independent as they purport to be, the idea that one person is entitled to take the big decisions is dangerous nonetheless, and the advantages of a collegial style of leadership are too often overlooked. In reality, only a minority of political leaders make a big difference, by challenging assumptions about the politically possible or setting in motion systemic change. Yet in a democracy that is rare. It is especially when enlightened leaders acquire power in an authoritarian system that the opportunity for radical transformation occurs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, Willy Brandt and Mikhail Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping and Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair are among the leaders whom Brown examines in this original and illuminating study.