Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership?

In Leadership, Doris Kearns Goodwin combines her signature storytelling with essential lessons from four of our nation’s presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. A culmination of five decades of work in presidential history, Goodwin examines how the four presidents recognized leadership qualities within themselves, navigated adversity, and emerged to confront the challenges of their times.

No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Despite differences in background, abilities, and temperament, these presidents shared a fierce ambition, sense of moral purpose, and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon adversity and enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.

Goodwin is the author of six previous books, including the Pulitzer-Prize winning No Ordinary Time and Team of Rivals, the basis for Steven Spielberg’s award-winning Lincoln. In conversation with Ezra Klein, editor-at-large and founder of Vox. Book signing to follow.