Book Review: The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall

National Security |

 
Author: Eliot A. Cohen
 
| Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths, special assistant, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army |
 
Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths provides an insightful review of Professor Eliot A. Cohen’s book on leadership lessons through the lens of William Shakespeare’s work, a method that “helps readers see common challenges in new ways.” Griffiths describes Cohen’s structural approach to the book—a blend of modern examples with Shakespearean counterparts—and writes that The Hollow Crown’s “effective structure allows chapters to stand on their own while remaining part of a cohesive whole.” Griffiths also notes that “ deep appreciation for Shakespeare’s works is not required to enjoy the book,” and that, though the book “occupies an unusual literary space,” it would “rest easily on a bookshelf alongside biographies and excellent leadership texts.”
 

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Keywords: national security, leadership, Henry VI, Richard III, Macbeth