A First Rate Madness Book Review
A First-Rate Madness – Book Review
Brian Byerly
SW 5200 – Social Welfare Policy Analysis & Practice
Appalachian State University
A First-Rate Madness – Book Review
“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”
Martin Luther King
In A First-Rate Madness, Uncovering the Links between Leadership and Mental Illness, Dr. Nassir Ghaemi utilizes historical evidence and modern psychiatric case study application to attain retrospective psychiatric diagnoses on eight case studies. A professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Ghaemi constructs a theory that personality traits and characteristics associated with mania and depression are ideal skills that make for the best leaders in times of crisis. He theorizes, through clinical research, that depression makes leaders more realistic and empathic when confronted with a major challenge. He also theorizes that creativity and resilience, which is inherent in some with mania, furthers the leadership strengths of individuals.
As a backdrop to his theory, Dr. Ghaemi presents rich and engaging images of the difficult environments of the respective leaders including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ted Turner, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Beyond the case studies, Dr. Ghaemi argues, with substantial evidence, that the presence of traits of depression or mania, or both, has enhanced their leadership skills. As he puts it, “as a whole, more often than not, those mental illnesses enhance or promote these qualities more frequently than is the case in the absence of those mental illnesses.” He also theorizes that leaders considered mentally healthy are effective during times of peace and prosperity, but falter during crises because they lack the realistic, empathic, or creative thinking skills that leaders with mental disorders often exhibit. This is backed by studies
Brian Byerly
SW 5200 – Social Welfare Policy Analysis & Practice
Appalachian State University
A First-Rate Madness – Book Review
“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”
Martin Luther King
In A First-Rate Madness, Uncovering the Links between Leadership and Mental Illness, Dr. Nassir Ghaemi utilizes historical evidence and modern psychiatric case study application to attain retrospective psychiatric diagnoses on eight case studies. A professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Ghaemi constructs a theory that personality traits and characteristics associated with mania and depression are ideal skills that make for the best leaders in times of crisis. He theorizes, through clinical research, that depression makes leaders more realistic and empathic when confronted with a major challenge. He also theorizes that creativity and resilience, which is inherent in some with mania, furthers the leadership strengths of individuals.
As a backdrop to his theory, Dr. Ghaemi presents rich and engaging images of the difficult environments of the respective leaders including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ted Turner, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Beyond the case studies, Dr. Ghaemi argues, with substantial evidence, that the presence of traits of depression or mania, or both, has enhanced their leadership skills. As he puts it, “as a whole, more often than not, those mental illnesses enhance or promote these qualities more frequently than is the case in the absence of those mental illnesses.” He also theorizes that leaders considered mentally healthy are effective during times of peace and prosperity, but falter during crises because they lack the realistic, empathic, or creative thinking skills that leaders with mental disorders often exhibit. This is backed by studies