Into The Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis and Clark's Daring Westward Expedition by Jack Uldrich

Bill says: This one was really a surprise. I found it in the used book store sandwiched between two books on how to beat the stock market. Of course, the title jumped out at me. (And just to be clear, I don't only read "leadership" books, but the last two books I read before this one were true fire service history books that just happened to suck so I haven't listed them here.)

Admittedly, I don't know much about Lewis and Clark so the material in this book about their expedition was interesting. But the tie-ins to "leadership" were also very compelling. It wasn't the same old book where someone repeats "lead from the front" over and over. For me, there were some true revelations here; specifically with regard to optimism. And the challenges of the expedition rang true as close parallels to working in the fire service.

Bill recommends for Officers

Hatch says: I read this book after seeing it on Bill’s list and was blown away. Sure I had heard of the Lewis and Clark expedition but never really gave much thought to how difficult it had to be to accomplish from a leadership standpoint. Each chapter covers a unique characteristic of this incredible leadership endeavor.

Spoiler alert, the point about optimism seems obvious but when you think about it is so underutilized.