How the Best Did It

Leadership Lessons from Our Top Presidents

By: Talmage Boston, John Avlon - foreword

Narrated by: Talmage Boston

How the Best Did It is an accessible and insightful explanation of how the most important leadership traits from America's eight greatest presidents can be implemented by today's leaders.

"A discerning examination of what all of us can learn from some of our most effective leaders who have held-and wielded-ultimate power at the highest level." -Jon Meacham

©2024 Talmage Boston (P)2024 Ascent Audio

Excellent discussion of leadership traits of our best presidents

I listened to it while on a road trip to visit the presidential museums. Wonderful!

Crisp and informative. captures the characters.

Enthralling work. Crisp informative style informs the depths of the histories spotlighted. Thoroughly captures the characters’ strengths, infirmities, and human complexities.

Captivating book with one liberal mistake

This is an excellent book with one exception that appears to be a glaring liberal bias. The author does not give adequate credit to treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon who was a Republican. He was held over from the Eisenhower administration. Secretary Dillon gave balance to the opinions given to JFK for the economy. The author gives all the credit to the liberal members who gave economic advice. This is covered well in the book “The Dillon Era” by Richard Aldous.

An Excepionally Researched History Book

“How the Best Did It: Leadership Lessons from Our Top Presidents” was an exceptionally researched book and the bibliography will provide the reader an outstanding resource for a further reading reference source. The book is a composition of history, text, commentary, and leaders self-help read. I experienced this book as an audio book narrated by the author. The author did not do justice to the book by narrating it and should find a professional narrator. As an audio book it does not flow well with “quates”, “close Quotes”, Parentheses Close parentheses”, “Paragraph a…., Paragraph b….” and the questions at the end of each chapter for leaders gives the book a “text” and “self-help” persona. In my opinion this book would be a fantastic historical perspective of great Americans but what I heard left me somewhat confused with the personal “Parentheses, close parentheses” opinion comments and other distractions. Also, JFK is not the equal of George Washington and Abram Lincoln and should not be at the same level. Otherwise after climbing over the distractions and poor narrative the basic historical information and bibliography are worth the investment in time to read or listen to. (Experienced as an AUDIO book)