Editorial Review:

"Policy specialists and academic scholars have long agreed that for U.S. leaders to deal effectively with other actors in the international arena, they need images of their adversaries. Leaders must try to see events, and, indeed, their own behavior, from the perspective of opponents. . . . Faulty images are a source of misperceptions and miscalculations that have often led to major errors in policy, avoidable catastrophes, and missed opportunities. History supplies all too many examples."--from the Foreword

What impels leaders to lead and followers to follow? How did Osama bin Laden, the son of a multibillionaire construction magnate in Saudi Arabia, become the world's number-one terrorist? What are the psychological foundations of man's inhumanity to man, ethnic cleansing, and genocide? Jerrold M. Post contends that such questions can be answered only through an understanding of the psychological foundations of leader personality and political behavior.

Post was founding director of the Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior for the CIA. He developed the political personality profiles of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat for President Jimmy Carter's use at the Camp David talks and initiated the U.S. government's research program on the psychology of political terrorism. He was awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit in 1979 for his leadership of the center.

In this book, he draws on psychological and personality theories, as well as interviews with individual terrorists and those who have interacted with particular leaders, to discuss a range of issues: the effects of illness and age on a leader's political behavior; narcissism and the relationship between followers and a charismatic leader; the impact of crisis-induced stress on policymakers; the mind of the terrorist, with a consideration of "killing in the name of God"; and the need for enemies and the rise of ethnic conflict and terrorism in the post-Cold War environment. The leaders he discusses include Fidel Castro, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, and Slobodan Milosevic.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

An Excellent Source:

We are currently using this book as a source for my political psychology class. It has been extremely helpful in understanding the background of some of the "terrorist" leaders in the world. It shows the background of these leaders and that they are not all psychopathic monsters but have some reason to their decisions. This book is a must have for all people hoping to understand the complex situations and people that the United States is involved with.

Political psychology in this political surprising world:

Dr. Post give a lot of books in one. Terrorism, ethnic violence, political profiles, are addressed brilliantly in an educational way.

Understanding The Enemies of U.S.:

Jerrold M. Post discusses and informs on psychological war, concentrating on confirmed enemies of the United States. The power of a charismatic leader derives from his capacity to focus hatred against a single enemy (example: Hitler in the 1930s).
Like Hitler, Fidel Castro is a destructive, charismatic and blames the enemy, takes no personal responsibility for leadership failures. "Combining extreme gradiosity with a paranoid outlook, an absence of conscience, and a willingness to use whatever... more info

Understanding The eaders Shaping Our World Today and Tomorr:

A rare work combining fascinating historical, political and psychological analyses of leadership and the leaders shaping our world. Dr. Post has the unusual ability to present his deep and important psychological insights in a jargon free style, making this powerful work accessible to both professional and non-professional readers.

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