King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership

by Arnold M. Ludwig

Overview

"People may choose to ignore their animal heritage by interpreting their behavior as divinely inspired, socially purposeful, or even self-serving, all of which they attribute to being human, but they masticate, fornicate, and procreate, much as chimps and apes do, so they should have little cause to get upset if they learn that they act like other primates when they politically agitate, debate, abdicate, placate, and administrate, too."

King of the Mountain presents the startling findings of Arnold M. Ludwig's eighteen-year investigation into why people want to rule. The answer may seem obvious—power, privilege, and perks—but any adequate answer also needs to explain why so many rulers cling to power even when they are miserable, trust nobody, feel besieged, and face almost certain death. Ludwig's results suggest that leaders of nations tend to act remarkably like monkeys and apes in the way they come to power, govern, and rule.

Profiling every ruler of a recognized country in the twentieth century—over 1,900 people in all—Ludwig establishes how rulers came to power, how they lost power, the dangers they faced, and the odds of their being assassinated, committing suicide, or dying a natural death. Then, concentrating on a smaller sub-set of 377 rulers for whom more extensive personal information was available, he compares six different kinds of leaders, examining their characteristics, their childhoods, and their mental stability or instability to identify the main predictors of later political success.

Ludwig's penetrating observations, though presented in a lighthearted and entertaining way, offer important insight into why humans have engaged in war throughout recorded history as well as suggesting how they might live together in peace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813143293
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/24/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	x
	Introduction	xi
1.	Why Rulers Rule	1
2.	It's a Man's World	22
3.	The Perks of Power	50
4.	A Dangerous Game	79
5.	Rearing Rulers	126
6.	Little Acorns into Mighty Oaks	170
7.	Of Sound Mind??	221
8.	The Measure of Political Greatness	272
9.	The Seven Pillars of Greatness	316
10.	Warmongers or Peacemakers?	354
Appendix A	Sample of Rulers	379
Appendix B	Methodology	389
Appendix C	Data Collection and Statistics	399
Appendix D	Political Greatness Scale	403
	Notes	409
	Statistics	433
	Acknowledgments	463
	Index	465

Editorial Reviews

Applying the insights of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology to political leadership, University of Kentucky emeritus professor of psychiatry Arnold M. Ludwig (How Do We Know Who We Are?) in King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership compares human rulers to primates, arguing that male politicians, like their simian alpha-male cohorts, are adept at gaining, exercising and keeping power. Ludwig then focuses closely on 377 world leaders, including Idi Amin, Tony Blair, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan examining a string of traits to identify what he considers the factors that determine a leader's greatness: the addition of new territory, military prowess, economic prosperity, etc. Although Ludwig presents exhaustive research, many of his assumptions such as that all societies want a ruler because it's the natural order of things lack support. Moreover, Ludwig quickly loses sight of his (somewhat shaky) thesis that human politicians derive their leadership drive from their primate ancestors. 29 b&w illus. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

An enjoyable book. The statistical tables alone are worth the price.

Journal of the American Medical Association

[T]he book is written well and in an accessible and engaging style. The author possesses a fine sense of humor, facilitated by a rich collection of entertaining and often bizarre anecdotes about world leaders, especially about characters such as Idi Amin, Bokassa, or Trujillo.

Human Nature Review

A unique and important contribution.... The insights and analyses have far-reaching consequences to all fields of human endeavor, especially to politics.... Clear, cogent, and at times laced with humor.

Wildlife Conservation Society George Schaller

Every single page contains something striking and thought-provoking.

Fortean Times

There is a richness to Ludwig's approach that is very appealing.

Leadership

A scholarly attempt to measure political leadership with the cool objectivity of science.

New York Times

Well-written, engaging, insightful.... Ludwig's book makes a bona fide contribution to the study of leadership.

Rhetoric and Public Affairs

A thoroughly enjoyable read.... Ludwig's eye for an anecdote is a good one, and provides much pleasure.

Nth Position

An arresting book that casts political science out the window and explains leadership through comparisons with chimpanzees, baboons, and gorillas.

Washington Post Book World

The author measures each [leader] on an index of political greatness and explores the common predilection toward conflict and war. This book will serve readers at all levels.

Choice

World politics is made by world leaders. These men (very few are women), who love to present themselves as having their people's interests at heart, are driven by the same desire for power recognized by every primatologist as a universal alpha male characteristic. Based on nearly two thousand profiles of political leaders, King of the Mountain drives this point home as no other book before.

author of Chimpanzee Politics Frans B. M. de Waal

"[T]he book is written well and in an accessible and engaging style. The author possesses a fine sense of humor, facilitated by a rich collection of entertaining and often bizarre anecdotes about world leaders, especially about characters such as Idi Amin, Bokassa, or Trujillo." -- Human Nature Review

"A scholarly attempt to measure political leadership with the cool objectivity of science." -- New York Times

"A thoroughly enjoyable read.... Ludwig's eye for an anecdote is a good one, and provides much pleasure." -- Nth Position

"A unique and important contribution.... The insights and analyses have far-reaching consequences to all fields of human endeavor, especially to politics.... Clear, cogent, and at times laced with humor." -- George Schaller, Wildlife Conservation Society

"An arresting book that casts political science out the window and explains leadership through comparisons with chimpanzees, baboons, and gorillas." -- Washington Post Book World

"An enjoyable book. The statistical tables alone are worth the price." -- Journal of the American Medical Association

"Every single page contains something striking and thought-provoking." -- Fortean Times

"The author measures each [leader] on an index of political greatness and explores the common predilection toward conflict and war. This book will serve readers at all levels." -- Choice

"There is a richness to Ludwig's approach that is very appealing." -- Leadership

"Well-written, engaging, insightful.... Ludwig's book makes a bona fide contribution to the study of leadership." -- Rhetoric and Public Affairs

"World politics is made by world leaders. These men (very few are women), who love to present themselves as having their people's interests at heart, are driven by the same desire for power recognized by every primatologist as a universal alpha male characteristic. Based on nearly two thousand profiles of political leaders, King of the Mountain drives this point home as no other book before." -- Frans B. M. de Waal, author of Chimpanzee Politics

From the Publisher