Product Description

Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?

The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address:

• What is each of us giving back to our country?

• Do we truly love democracy?

• Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?

• Why is America addicted to oil?

• Do we really care about our children's futures?

• Who will save the middle class?

A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis -- such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else -- among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations -- and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.

Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously doesn't mince words and offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, and John Edwards.

Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.

Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.

Where have all the leaders gone?

Lee Iacocca has the answer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23707 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-17
• Released on: 2007-04-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Iacocca, the bestselling author and former president of Ford and Chrysler, is back to sound a howl of anger against the sad state of leadership in the U.S. today. Iacocca starts with a rundown of sins committed by George W. Bush and his administration, and then moves on to criticize the American auto industry-naturally, he's furious over over the sale of Chrysler to Daimler-Benz. Along the way, Iacocca rails against the lack of leadership in vital national concerns such as health care, open markets and energy policy. Iacocca may not have a whole lot new to say, but he is always engaging, even when spinning his wheels over the current crop of presidential hopefuls or recommending that Congress take a year off from enacting laws or spending money. The book's strength lies in Iacocca's emotional honesty, which shines when he details the reasons he passed on a Presidential run, how he felt when his wife died and his frustration at the poor decisions he's made during his retirement (fessing up to voting for Bush in 2000 and handpicking the executive who sold Chrysler to the Germans). Iacocca is a genial person to spend time with, but his insights no longer carry the weight that made his autobiography, Iacocca, a runaway bestseller.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
The 82-year-old management legend can say what he wants--and does, in this far-reaching commentary on everything wrong with leadership today. From the current U.S. presidents many failures to corporate and international shortsightedness, he gives priceless insider views of many of the business and political disasters weve read about over the past forty years. His perspectives on leadership and corporate governance, political activism, philanthropy, and life management are fearless, and strengthened by his broad experience. Iacoccas voice and scrappy personality are a perfect match for his straight-from-the-gut opinions. His reading may lack variability, but he conveys a level of emotional engagement thats perfect for the character of his writing. T.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Iacocca is outraged. Now 82, he has seen the U.S. overcome some of its worst crises, including the Great Depression and World War II, through great leadership. As the CEO of Chrysler Corporation, he brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy and worked with the government to overcome the fallout from the 1970s oil crisis. Now, he says, our government has fallen under the grip of arrogant ideologues and spineless detractors. Our business leaders are more obsessed with stock options and trumping each other's multimillion-dollar salaries than with finding creative solutions to pressing problems, such as the health-care crisis, our loss of competitive edge in the global marketplace, the massive trade deficit, and the slow death of the middle class. He describes his frustration as his successor at Chrysler sold out to Daimler-Benz, and the once proud, independent company lost its soul. Although Iacocca presents a brutal analysis of cronyism in Washington, D.C., the abysmal situation in Iraq, and failed policies at home, he is not a pessimist. With a reputation as a straight shooter, he hopes to inspire more young people to vote. This is a surprisingly outspoken take on the pressing need for real leadership in this country. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A Deserving 5-Star Rating
If you ever felt, "Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?", please read this book. I read the book recently, little late since it was published more than a year ago, but I am glad I picked up a copy from the local library and read it finally.

From time to time we need Lee's doses to wake up, get our act together and put our money where our mouth is. The book will give you that and so deserves a 5-Star rating.

Good but not GReat
I found the beginning of the book pretty entertaining.The author is very outspoken and speaking his mind plain straight.
He has obviously shown a lot of COURAGE by writing this book.
I strongly agree with most of the comments he makes about the recourse to judiciary system for any small misunderstanding, America's overly medicine pill consumption, and the IPOD "addiction"...I'm glad to find someone who think like me.
However, half way through the book, I found the author going off topic and a total shift of the subject from leadership to his personal prowesses as a CEO.
Overall, it is an average book.

REAL "Straight Talk!"
Regardless of a reader's personal biases, whether political, religious, ethnic or other, this refreshing book can be profitably read by everybody. It should be required reading in every high school in the country! Thought provoking at a time when critical thinking seems to be a fading skill.