by Lee Iacocca (Author)


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Iacocca, the bestselling author and former president of Ford and Chrysler,
is back to sound a howl of anger against the sad state of leadership in
the U.S. today. Iacocca starts with a rundown of sins committed by George
W. Bush and his administration, and then moves on to criticize the
American auto industry-naturally, he's furious over over the sale of
Chrysler to Daimler-Benz. Along the way, Iacocca rails against the lack of
leadership in vital national concerns such as health care, open markets
and energy policy. Iacocca may not have a whole lot new to say, but he is
always engaging, even when spinning his wheels over the current crop of
presidential hopefuls or recommending that Congress take a year off from
enacting laws or spending money. The book's strength lies in Iacocca's
emotional honesty, which shines when he details the reasons he passed on a
Presidential run, how he felt when his wife died and his frustration at
the poor decisions he's made during his retirement (fessing up to voting
for Bush in 2000 and handpicking the executive who sold Chrysler to the
Germans). Iacocca is a genial person to spend time with, but his insights
no longer carry the weight that made his autobiography, Iacocca, a runaway bestseller.

From Booklist
Iacocca is outraged. Now 82, he has seen the U.S. overcome some of its
worst crises, including the Great Depression and World War II, through
great leadership. As the CEO of Chrysler Corporation, he brought the
company back from the brink of bankruptcy and worked with the government
to overcome the fallout from the 1970s oil crisis. Now, he says, our
government has fallen under the grip of arrogant ideologues and spineless
detractors. Our business leaders are more obsessed with stock options and
trumping each other's multimillion-dollar salaries than with finding
creative solutions to pressing problems, such as the health-care crisis,
our loss of competitive edge in the global marketplace, the massive trade
deficit, and the slow death of the middle class. He describes his
frustration as his successor at Chrysler sold out to Daimler-Benz, and the
once proud, independent company lost its soul. Although Iacocca presents a
brutal analysis of cronyism in Washington, D.C., the abysmal situation in
Iraq, and failed policies at home, he is not a pessimist. With a
reputation as a straight shooter, he hopes to inspire more young people to
vote. This is a surprisingly outspoken take on the pressing need for real leadership in this country.

Product Details

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Scribner (April 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416532471