The Pathology of Leadership

Abstract

That the illness of political figures can shape history is well-known. Hugh L'Etang, an English physician and editor, brings the chronicle up to date by recounting how, since 1908, 11 out of 13 British prime ministers and 6 out of 10 American presidents have suffered from some degree of incapacitating illness while in office. Illness also affects the second echelon of decision-makers, cabinet ministers, and generals. While Woodrow Wilson's cerebral thrombosis and hemiparesis are wellknown to Americans as a major cause for the failure of the treaty of Versailles, a less familiar item is Franklin Roosevelt's propensity for surrounding himself with sick and ailing cabinet ministers and other advisers. Dr. L'Etang astutely points out that at the time of the Suez crisis, Anthony Eden was suffering from recurrent biliary-tract disease and John Foster Dulles from the preliminary symptoms of his intestinal cancer. Even during World War I the British generals