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Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: October 1, 2020 at 1:07:41 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Daniels on Deane Jr., 'Lessons in Leadership: > My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > John R. Deane Jr. Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from > World War II to Vietnam. Edited by Jack C. Mason. American Warrior > Series. Lexington University Press of Kentucky, 2018. 304 pp. > $50.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8131-7494-5. > > Reviewed by Benjamin Daniels (American Military University) > Published on H-War (October, 2020) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > _Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to > Vietnam_ by Retired General John R. Deane Jr. offers the aspiring > military or corporate leader an allegory for leadership as told > through Deane's life. While Deane's life experience is certainly > storied and fanciful--spanning some of the most crucial moments in > recent military history--readers should not expect a cleanly written > categorical approach to developing leadership, rather they should > approach Deane's work conversationally. Jack C. Mason's stylistic > choice of blending biography with leadership asides is jarring in > some places, but it succeeds in demystifying the military jargon to > make the work more accessible to corporate-level readers. Using > first-hand accounts from the eyewitness, paired with historically > contextual asides, Mason effectively presents a biography of Deane's > life while letting some of the more important lessons go by > unnoticed. > > _Lessons in Leadership_ begins with a foreword written by the work's > editor, Mason. Early, Mason establishes that Deane was a man who > "stood out among the rest" and at ninety-three was still a > "commanding presence in the room," which Deane used effectively to > "draw you in, and with his sharp wit and humor, he knew how to spin a > tale" (p. viii). This brings the reader to a place of "faux > reverence" much like how a master of ceremonies recounts the > accolades and breadth of experience before the announcement of a > keynote speaker. Deane's--or rather Mason's--work compiles "written > notes, and collected stories, and interviews over the years [of > Deane's life] for the purpose of documenting his career" (p. ix). > This is both helpful and hurtful in the retelling of a fascinating > life. Some of the transitions and recollections are odd and feel > largely out of place, detouring into digressions only to leap back > onto the main road without warning. > > Conceptually, the allegorical approach can be effective in recounting > the life of a historical figure. But _Lessons in Leadership _could > have greatly benefited from a higher level of organization and > categorization. The heart of the book seems split between > self-improvement and autobiography. This stems from a misleading > title creating disjointed expectations and a fundamental lack of > categorizing lessons for dissemination. The question becomes, is this > a book filled with vignettes of leadership that are organized for > easy digestion by corporate leaders? Or is it an autobiography in > which the reader must determine for themselves the valuable > takeaways? This determination is left in the hands of the readers, > which causes inconsistencies in the reception of the intended > lessons. > > This is not to say that _Lessons in Leadership _is an ineffective > book. On the contrary, how the story is told beckons the reader into > self-reflection and self-improvement. The work could be read as a > biography of a man who served the United States faithfully for > ninety-plus years, or it can be examined critically as a case study > in leading with confidence: for instance, General Deane's > confrontation on the Berlin Wall while leading the Second Battle > Group, Sixth infantry Regiment. During a patrol, Deane encountered an > East German water tank that was firing a "high-velocity spray" across > the wall to frighten the Western soldiers (p. 103). Deane--determined > to give no ground--stood in defiance against the cannon and did not > waver when the East Germans sprayed all around his tank forming a > "perfect 'V' right where [he] was standing" (p. 105). This show of > daring leadership in the face of a potential international incident > is one example where Mason asks the reader to extract the lessons on > their own. > > There are however a few salient points that can be extracted from > Deane's work: stay sharp, surround yourself with good people, > evaluate all avenues of approach, and stay engaged. These four > pillars gird the framework in which Deane's story is told. If the > reader can overlook the occasional awkwardness in wording and > transitions, they will be better equipped to develop themselves into > more effective leaders that can pierce through the monotony of life > and inspire those around them. _Lessons in Leadership _is an > allegorical approach to an autobiography that hinders the delivery in > several places. However, it is an easily accessible book that will > serve to enhance the underlying leadership qualities in most people. > > Citation: Benjamin Daniels. Review of Deane Jr., John R., _Lessons in > Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam_. > H-War, H-Net Reviews. October, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55538 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#2133): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/2133 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/77245218/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
