Wilhelm II and the Germans: A Study in Leadership

Mr. Kohut's book is a very acqurate reading for anyone interested in Leadership. He shows the keys of both the needs of the leader -Wilhelm II- to assert his own personality and the needs of the German country of his time to build a symbolic image of the country. It's a perfect example of what could be told as emotional leadership, a leadership based on public image, fanfarre and public exhibitionism. Kohut has the merit of having investigated Wilhelm II for more than ten years. You can feel the closeness with which he explains the Kaiser's behaviour and reasons.The author makes use of the conceptual tools of Self psychology, but the reading is not boring for non specialists. Kohut and Donald Winnicott seem to be the main influences of the author a historian and psychoanalyst himself.