A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country

With all of the failed leadership going on in America today I found Wesley's book refreshing. I'm encouraging my two sons to read this book because Mr. Clark is a Great leader to look up to and learn from. If we had more leaders like Wesley, America would still be a great country.

Rather than rehash other reviewers' comments, let me refer you to pages 182 and 183, where Wesley Clark reports a warning he received from Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia to not have NATO become an occupying power in the Balkans because occupying powers "do not do well here." Instead, the dictator urged the U.S. and its allies to "treat people with respect." After the conversation, Clark reflected on his military and negotiating experiences and decided the principles of power politics among nations "had to be exercised through personal relationships. Ultimately, diplomacy wasn't about trade-offs; it was about persuasion. To succeed, you had to link the calculus of cost and benefits to charm, new opportunities and the promise of a better tomorrow. Success was 90 percent persuasion, backed up by 10 percent coercion." He adds: "If force was to be used, it was to be used only as a last resort, and even then alongside allies, if possible." As I finished reading this book on Oct. 20, 2007, a day when the Bush Administration's drumbeats for war with Iran continued to accelerate, I couldn't help but wish Americans had elected Clark or someone like him in 2004. I had the same thought in nearly every chapter of the general's combination biography and expression of lessons he's learned from going to war, listening to others, weighing alternatives and then making or recommending decisions. Listening and weighing alternatives before deciding is a foreign concept for the man Garrison Keillor refers to as "Current Occupant." I fear it will plunge us even deeper into the Middle Eastern abyss. Wesley Clark is an American treasure, and the nation should tap his wisdom, judgment and talents as soon as possible. We need leaders like him.

Wes Clark has lead a life that could only be described as extraordinary. From growing up in Arkansas, to West point, to Oxford, The bloody fields of Vietnam to the halls of Washington and everywhere in between. This book gives an inspiring account of how one man from humble origins and a will to achieve went from a poor, small town boy to one of the most decorated Military leaders in modern history. This book is practically a manual on leadership. Whether you are in to politics or not, you should get this book. You cannot read this without being inspired, and hopeful for the future of this country.

"A Time To Lead" is a must read for anyone who cares about our government and is interested in the future. The stories that Wes Clark tells will make you laugh, tremble, and hope. This is a man who has truly lived a life of sacrifice and service and it is a breath of fresh air to read the memoirs of someone who has actually walked the walk. Clark's voice has brought reason to our national dialog and I hope that his message of reason over rage continues to spread in this nation and throughout the world.

The book could easily be subtitled, "Stories from my life and the lessons they teach," for that is the basic structure of the book. In chronological order, except for the Preface, in which he relates the incident in which he was wounded in Viet Nam, Gen. Clark tells stories of his life and then completes each chapter with the lessons those stories have taught him--lessons for life and lessons on leadership. The final chapter applies those lessons to articulate a vision for America, for governance, and a path to follow for the 21st century. Most of the stories he tells will be familiar to the avid Clark supporter community, but we've never heard them in his own words before, and in some cases in as much detail. The personal touch and the insights he provides bring the stories alive in his straightforward--dare I say simple?--language. It's an easy read, but the message is deep, but not complex. If there was any disappointment in my reading of the book is that he downplays his own achievements, accomplishments, and uniqueness as a public servant, soldier, scholar, and leader. While his brilliance shines through the prose, he goes out of his way to avoid making him the star of the narrative. For example, his account of the Mt. Igman tragedy in Bosnia leaves out the danger and personal risk he undertook in making his rescue attempt. And there are almost too-casual mentions of his being number one in his class at West Point and his selection as a Rhodes Scholar. He omits altogether the praise that has been lavished on him in his formal Army evaluations and in other, less formal ways. His mission in writing the book was to teach. The stories are necessary to understand the significant events in his life that have shaped who he is, led him to his beliefs, developed his character, and instilled the principles that guide him still. Extracting the leadership lessons from the stories and putting them all in one place could be used as the basis for a day-long seminar on principled leadership. I didn't get the impression that he was touting his own leadership traits or promoting himself for his own purposes. Rather, I think he was hoping that others would internalize the lessons he teaches and adopt the same principles. He seems to think that the country has a dearth of such leaders and would like to develop more of them in all walks of life. Readers of Clark's third book should enjoy it at at least two levels: the stories themselves as a compelling and often poignant narrative, and the points to ponder in developing leaders to take America to the places she should go in the future.