Jon Meacham: "Franklin and Winston: Leadership Lessons for Today"

Jon Meacham

Document Type

Metadata Only

Date

9-28-2006

Lecture Series

President's Lecture Series

Description

Newsweek editor Jon Meacham is the best-selling author of "Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Look at an Epic Friendship," which Time magazine declared "masterful" and The Washington Post proclaimed "a memorable achievement." In the book, Meacham explores the fascinating relationship between the two great leaders who piloted the free world to victory in World War II.

"The powerful emotional connection between Roosevelt and Churchill and how they confronted tyranny and terror is an incredibly contemporary story that yields important lessons for leaders today on a personal, political and diplomatic level," says Meacham. "I don't think you can understand the art of leadership or the way we live now without grasping the nature of the Roosevelt-Churchill friendship."

His latest book, "American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation," is a New York Times bestseller. "In these polarized times," wrote USA Today, "Meacham's book provides an enlightening look at how the founding fathers discovered ways to tame, but not extinguish, the fires of faith."

As managing editor, Meacham oversees Newsweek's coverage of politics, international affairs and breaking news. He has written cover stories on the controversy over Mel Gibson's "The Passion," guns in America, the sexual abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Church and modern depictions of World War II in Hollywood movies. His cover story on Ronald Reagan, "American Dreamer," was a sweeping and intimate tribute to one of the most popular yet controversial presidents.

Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a "Global Leader for Tomorrow" of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In 2004 he was named one of the most powerful men under 38 by Details magazine. A contributing editor for The Washington Monthly, he also has written for The New York Times Book Review and The Los Angeles Times Book Review. In 2001 he edited "Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement."

Born and raised in Chattanooga, Tenn., Meacham was imbued at a young age with a deep appreciation for history and current affairs. After graduating summa cum laude from The University of the South, he worked as a reporter for The Chattanooga Times. He soon became an editor of The Washington Monthly and, two years later, a national affairs writer for Newsweek. In 2004, under Meacham's guidance, Newsweek won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence for the second time in three years.

Media Type

DVD

Comments

A DVD of this lecture is available in the Special Collections & University Archives Department of Old Dominion University Perry Library. Call #: LD4331.A57 2006b

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