Leaders in Action

At a time when Booker T. Washington is being rediscovered by African Americans today, the author offers a compelling look at the man and the qualities of leadership he embodied in his life and work. The result is a timeless message of hope, empowerment, and responsibility, which Washington himself characterized as the training of head, heart, and hand.

Winston Churchill was one of the most extraordinary leaders of the twentieth century. What was it that enabled him to stand so steadfastly when all those around him seemed to turn back in fear? What was it that enabled him to inspire whole nations to endure the unendurable and to achieve the unachievable when all those around him had already surrendered all hope? This remarkable new study of Churchill's leadership skill answers these questions and more. The result is an account that is as inspiring today as it was more than half a century ago when the great man' shadow fell large across the world stage. According to Henry Kissinger, "Our age finds it difficult to come to grips with Churchill. The political leaders with whom we are familiar generally aspire to be superstars rather than heroes. The distinction is crucial. Superstars strive for approbation, heroes walk alone. Superstars crave consensus, heroes define themselves by the...future they see it as their risk to bring about. Superstars seek success in a technique for eliciting support, heroes pursue success as the outgrowth of their inner values." Winston Churchill was a hero.

For many of those who are even familiar with his name, George Whitfield is thought of as a preacher, a man connected with the Great Awakening in the 1700s. While this is true, it is only part of the story. As a student at Oxford University, he experienced a spiritual awakening under the influence of John Wesley's Methodists and immediately began tending to prisoners, caring for the poor, and preaching the Christian gospel. He met with astounding success, in time speaking to larger crowds than had ever gathered in the history of England. Whitefield became the most famous man of his age. His impact upon the American colonies, however, may have been his most lasting gift. In seven tours of the colonies, Whitfield preached from Georgia to Maine, calling the colonists to spiritual conversion and challenging them in their sense of national destiny. He befriended men like Benjamin Franklin, converted men like Patrick Henry, and inspired men like George Washington. Furthermore, when he learned that England intended to tighten her control over the colonies, Whitefield warmed his American friends in sermon after sermon and even accompanied Benjamin Franklin to make the American case in the Court of Saint James. Many of the colonists considered him the father of their revolution. Forgotten Founding Father captures the early struggles and international successes of this amazing leader. The result is a portrait of a gifted but flawed human who yielded himself as a tool in the hands of a sovereign God. Also portrayed is how important Whitfield was to the American cause and how much Americans today owe to him - a story that will inspire a new generation with a past vividly and truthfully retold.

This volume in the Leaders in Action series presents the life of Teddy Roosevelt: adventurer, journalist, rancher, legislator, governor, vice president and president of the United States, and an inspiration to people of his own time and of ours.