LEADER 00000cam a2200469 a 4500 001 429024755 003 OCoLC 005 20121107042732.0 008 091005s2009 nyu 000 0deng 010 2009041675 020 9781439180648 020 1439180644 020 9781439183458 (ebk.) 020 1439183457 (ebk.) 020 1439183449 020 9781439183441 035 (OCoLC)429024755 040 DLC|beng|cDLC|dBTCTA|dUPZ|dMLY|dIK2|dZJI|dZS3|dIHV|dMOF |dYDXCP|dBWX|dVP@|dNSB|dBDX 043 n-us--- 049 CCXC 050 00 E176|b.I8 2009 100 1 Isaacson, Walter. 245 10 American sketches :|bgreat leaders, creative thinkers, and heroes of a hurricane /|cWalter Isaacson. 250 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed. 264 1 New York :|bSimon & Schuster,|c2009. 300 xi, 285 pages ;|c25 cm 336 text|btxt|2rdacontent 337 unmediated|bn|2rdamedia 338 volume|bnc|2rdacarrier 505 0 Introduction: My so-called writing life -- 1. FRANKLIN AND OTHER FOUNDERS. Franklin and the art of leadership -- God of our fathers -- The opinions of mankind -- Best supporting actor -- A delicate balance -- 2. STATECRAFTERS. McGeorge Bundy, the brightest -- Kissinger and the roots of realism -- He's back! -- Kissinger reappraised -- James Baker, wise man? -- Madeleine's war - - Colin Powell, the good soldier -- George Tenet and the instinct to please -- 3. REAGAN AND GORBACHEV. We meet again -- The Gorbachev challenge -- Yes, he's for real -- Figuring out Ronnie -- 4. THE CLINTONS. Fighting words -- I'm okay, you're okay -- 5. ALBERT EINSTEIN. Einstein's God -- Creative thinker -- A new way to view science -- Einstein and the bomb -- Einstein's final quest -- 6. THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY. In search of the real Bill Gates -- The passion of Andrew Grove -- Our century and the next one -- The Biotech Age -- Person of the century -- 7. JOURNALISM. Luce's values, then and now -- Henry Grunwald -- Maynard Parker -- George Plimpton -- A bold, old idea for saving Journalism -- 8. INTERLUDE: Woody Allen's heart wants what it wants -- 9. NEW ORLEANS, MON AMOUR. Green trees -- How to bring the magic back -- EPILOGUE: The future restored. 520 What are the roots of creativity? What makes for great leadership? How do influential people end up rippling the surface of history? In this collection of essays, the author reflects on the lessons to be learned from Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, and various other interesting characters he has chronicled as a biographer and journalist. The people he writes about have an awesome intelligence, in most cases, but that is not the secret of their success. They had qualities that were even more rare, such as imagination and true curiosity. He reflects on how he became a writer, the lessons he learned from various people he met, and the challenges he sees for journalism in the digital age. He also offers loving tributes to his hometown of New Orleans, which both before and after Hurricane Katrina offered many of the ingredients for a creative culture, and to the Louisiana novelist Walker Percy, who was an early mentor. He describes the joys of the "so-called writing life" and the way that tales about the lives of fascinating people can enlighten our own lives. 590 Gift of Dr. Gary Jason. 600 10 Isaacson, Walter. 650 0 Biographers|zUnited States|vBiography. 651 0 United States|vBiography|vAnecdotes. 651 0 United States|xHistory|vAnecdotes. 910 slg 201211 945 MARCIVE (03/23)
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