Rating: 
Summary: Great work if you can get it
Review: What a country this is! How else to explain this book? Take an historical figure about whom little is known, ascribe certain banalities about leadership to him, jazz it up with some colorful language, set it in a guidebook format with short chapters and lots of bullets--and sell huge numbers of copies! Get Ross Perot to endorse it!This book cries out for a spoof--heck, it already seems like a spoof. I'm thinking of taking a few days to write "Leadership Secrets of Spongebog Squarepants" and see how it sells.
Rating: 
Summary: suspension of disbelief
Review: Whether or not the book has factual historical basis is beside the point. I approached this book with what they call in filmmaking as "suspension of disbelief". When read against the backdrop of ordinary experiences, most of the author's analogies and aphorisms amazingly make sense. Attila can exact obedience by just killing rivals and subordinates -- hardly the epitome of the leader. But he rose and survived among unthinking barbarians -- he demonstrated leadership even before he became one. To survive and lead amid trying circumstances is the essence of this book. The author detailed out the mechanics of Attila's leadership which is so credible you would willingly believe. Management gurus dissect leadership in complex paradigms and theories. Wess Robert's Attila simplified these in absolute truths--loyalty, courage, desire, emotional/physical stamina, empathy, decisiveness, anticipation, timing, competitivenes, self-confidence, accountability, responsibility, credibility, tenacity, dependability and stewardship. Attila exuded benign leadership when he gave up Rome and the world because of the word of the Pope. It would be hard to find another parallel in history.
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