"In this compelling look at charismatic leaders and their leadership styles. Abraham Zaleznik asserts that leaders are either hedgehogs, who view leadership as a single-minded track driven by unwavering rules, or foxes, who assess and re-evaluate their goals and strategies based on ever-changing factors in business, politics, and culture." "The story in back of a leader's life of thought: and action is always a mixed bag. If the proper study of mankind is man, the enduring lessons of leadership will emerge from the study of lives, of men and women who with an often tenuous grasp of command and less than perfect clarity in inner visions, dependent on the strength and the mobility of their character, search for the courage to lead. Leaders present their life stories as a text, calling upon readers to engage in vertical thinking as a way of identifying with that text." "This book contains five parts. Each part consists of two narrative chapters on the life and work of individuals caught up in the trappings of power and struggling to make it meaningful in their lives and the lives of others who become part of their story. The third chapter in each part is thematic using the stories to sharpen the portrayals of character in action in positions of responsibility."--Jacket.