Preview
  • A First-Rate Madness

  • Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness
  • By: S. Nassir Ghaemi
  • Narrated by: Adam Barr
  • Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (21 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A First-Rate Madness

By: S. Nassir Ghaemi
Narrated by: Adam Barr
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The New York Times bestseller

“A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . .”—The Boston Globe

“A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi’s book deserves high marks for original thinking.”—The Washington Post

“Provocative, fascinating.”—Salon.com

Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's "depressive realism" to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.

©2011 Nassir Ghaemi (P)2024 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . . A First-Rate Madness is carefully plotted and sensibly argued.”The Boston Globe

“Ghaemi isn’t the first to claim that madness is a close relative of genius, or even the first to extend the idea into politics. But he does go further than others . . . His explanations are elegant, too—intuitively accurate and banked off the latest psychiatric research.”—Newsweek

“Ghaemi is a remarkably disciplined writer, and he examines both psychiatry and history with impressive clarity and sensitivity. A First-Rate Madness will almost certainly be one of the most fascinating books of the year, not just because of the author's lucid prose and undeniable intelligence, but because of his provocative thesis: 'For abnormal challenges, abnormal leaders are needed.'”—NPR.org

What listeners say about A First-Rate Madness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent read.

Engaging and informative with clarification on historical leaders and the events that shaped our world. Shows us we are all somewhere on the neurotic spectrum and leaders are not immune.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought-provoking

The similarities between great leaders and depression are uncanny. He delves into why some of the most outstanding leaders in history likely had depression, bipolar disorder, and its closely related relative hyperthermia and dysthymia.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Solid, evidence-based

Loved the insight as a doctor of public health. Author is a psychiatrist and professor at Tufts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

not scientific

This is frustratingly not "scientific" as author claims. Study sample is hand picked to prove his theory. Uses one study of all white men to define "normal" and misses obvious counter points. Horribly unpersuasive.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!