A Life in Leadership

John Whitehead began life in Montclair, New Jersey, as a child of the Depression and went on to lead an exemplary life in the years of the Greatest Generation. In this intimate, charming autobiography, he shares his stories and the lessons he's learned about quiet leadership. He describes how on D-Day he commanded one of the landing crafts at Omaha Beach, and witnessed one of the greatest battles in American military history. Later, in his role as co-chair of Goldman Sachs, he was one of the pioneers of the globalization of international finance that was to change the face of American business. In 1985, Whitehead was appointed Deputy Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and became the architect of the Reagan administration's successful efforts to wean the countries of Eastern Europe from the Soviet Union and to open up space there for the democratic movements that eventually resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall. Most recently, he was appointed by New York Governor George Pataki as Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is charged with the task of rebuilding Ground Zero. Whitehead provides a first-hand account of the difficult decisions the LMDC has made in meeting its goals of re-developing lower Manhattan and honoring the victims of 9/11 as the capstone of his remarkable career.