First Ladies | Eleanor Roosevelt | 3

Shooting selfies on vacation. Posting Facebook updates on our kid's graduation from pre-school. Garnering awards and promotions to add to our LinkedIn profiles. Guess what, America? We've become self-obsessed. In David Brooks’s The Road to Character, the New York Times columnist suggests we take a good hard look at ourselves and remember that we weren't always so narcissistic.

Brooks outlines the moral shift that took place after World War II when we transitioned from honoring humility, self-discipline, and public service to worshiping at the altar of "the Big Me." He also reminds us that our current self-focus isn't even making us happy. To help us recalibrate our moral compasses, Brooks details the lives of war heroes, civil rights activists, advocates for the poor, writers, and deep thinkers who've tackled the work of building moral character, then outlines a 15-point plan to help us live more virtuous—and ultimately happier—lives.

Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming delivers candid reflections on the life of the first African-American first lady. Offering a window into her personal evolution, Michelle details how ambition, hard work, and embracing her authentic story helped her journey from her family’s Chicago working-class neighborhood to a 47th-floor law office, then to the White House and beyond.

Becoming provides insights into Michelle’s self-determination: She pushed herself to excel in Ivy League classrooms and achieve a prestigious career by age 26, then mustered the courage to swerve off that path in search of greater fulfillment. It details her relationship with Barack—a love story of two opposites—and their challenging quest to navigate family and political life. Through it all, we witness a woman who perpetually strives to become a better version of herself.

Are great leaders born, or are they made? In Leadership: In Turbulent Times, bestselling author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that it’s the latter: Great leaders often grow from personal challenges that shape how they lead later on. In our guide, you’ll discover how the personal crises of four US presidents helped them lead through national crises. Why did a career setback lead Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation? How did a family tragedy help Theodore Roosevelt end a coal strike that threatened the lives of thousands? Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis end up helping him lead the country through the Great Depression—and how was Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack instrumental to the civil rights movement?

Along the way, you’ll learn how other historians view these presidents, how these presidents’ behaviors reflect the teachings of modern-day experts on leadership and productivity—and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.

Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming delivers candid reflections on the life of the first African-American first lady. Offering a window into her personal evolution, Michelle details how ambition, hard work, and embracing her authentic story helped her journey from her family’s Chicago working-class neighborhood to a 47th-floor law office, then to the White House and beyond.

Becoming provides insights into Michelle’s self-determination: She pushed herself to excel in Ivy League classrooms and achieve a prestigious career by age 26, then mustered the courage to swerve off that path in search of greater fulfillment. It details her relationship with Barack—a love story of two opposites—and their challenging quest to navigate family and political life. Through it all, we witness a woman who perpetually strives to become a better version of herself.

Are great leaders born, or are they made? In Leadership: In Turbulent Times, bestselling author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that it’s the latter: Great leaders often grow from personal challenges that shape how they lead later on. In our guide, you’ll discover how the personal crises of four US presidents helped them lead through national crises. Why did a career setback lead Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation? How did a family tragedy help Theodore Roosevelt end a coal strike that threatened the lives of thousands? Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis end up helping him lead the country through the Great Depression—and how was Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack instrumental to the civil rights movement?

Along the way, you’ll learn how other historians view these presidents, how these presidents’ behaviors reflect the teachings of modern-day experts on leadership and productivity—and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.

Are great leaders born, or are they made? In Leadership: In Turbulent Times, bestselling author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that it’s the latter: Great leaders often grow from personal challenges that shape how they lead later on. In our guide, you’ll discover how the personal crises of four US presidents helped them lead through national crises. Why did a career setback lead Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation? How did a family tragedy help Theodore Roosevelt end a coal strike that threatened the lives of thousands? Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis end up helping him lead the country through the Great Depression—and how was Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack instrumental to the civil rights movement?

Along the way, you’ll learn how other historians view these presidents, how these presidents’ behaviors reflect the teachings of modern-day experts on leadership and productivity—and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.

Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming delivers candid reflections on the life of the first African-American first lady. Offering a window into her personal evolution, Michelle details how ambition, hard work, and embracing her authentic story helped her journey from her family’s Chicago working-class neighborhood to a 47th-floor law office, then to the White House and beyond.

Becoming provides insights into Michelle’s self-determination: She pushed herself to excel in Ivy League classrooms and achieve a prestigious career by age 26, then mustered the courage to swerve off that path in search of greater fulfillment. It details her relationship with Barack—a love story of two opposites—and their challenging quest to navigate family and political life. Through it all, we witness a woman who perpetually strives to become a better version of herself.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.