From little known heroes to legends like Sam Walton and Bill Gates, this absorbing book weaves history, economics, and personality to reveal the secrets behind the success of the last century"s greatest American business leaders. The authors show that a key to success was "contextual intelligence": the ability to "read" and understand the context of the times and seize the unique opportunities within them. This book is a powerful resource containing canon of the 20th century"s greatest business leaders in one volume. It is an absorbing read; the stories include both well known and unfamiliar leaders. It features a New Leadership Theory. Many leadership profiles focus on the personality traits. The authors" theory of "contextual intelligence" represents a fresh perspective and is well-researched, based on a Harvard Business School Leadership Initiative Study of 1,000 great CEOs and Founders of American companies from 1900-1999. Many of the leaders profiled hail from non-US countries.