Thomas F. (hardtack) - , reviewed on 7/14/2016 + 2701 more book reviews

Having made a study of leadership for most of my life, not that I consider myself a great leader, I was very interested in the premise of this book.

What a disappointment! Even in the beginning the author states most of what he is saying Attila 'said' was made up. To quote, "The aphorisms spoken by Attila in this book have no basis of authenticity as ever having been said by the king of the Huns." The author even admits he makes Attila and the Huns look better in this book than they appear in history.

After that, most of the leadership principles he presents are essentially bromides. You can find these in almost every other book on leadership. What got to me, to stop me reading about one-third of the way through the book, was his occasional contradiction of something he stated earlier.

It doesn't surprise me this is a "NY Times bestseller" or that Ross Perot really liked the book. I don't have respect for either. NY Times 'bestsellers' are no longer what they used to be, and as for Perot.... let's not go there.

What is disappointing, but probably not surprising, is this book was considered a great primer on leadership. I take this as a reflection of the current state of leadership in our country.

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