From a lifetime of study and inside knowledge- what the great American presidents reveal about leadership Doris Kearns Goodwin's magnum opus tackles the big leadership questions- are leaders born or made? Do the times make the leader or does the leader make the times? In Leadership Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied - Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson - to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entry into public life, when their paths were filled with confusion, hope, and fear, we can share their struggles and follow their development into leaders. This seminal work provides a road-map for aspiring and established leaders. In today's polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of fracture and fear take on a singular urgency.