The commanders Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant may have been deadly adversaries, but as leaders they actually had a lot in common. The new book Lee & Grant shows that both men personified incredible energy, intelligence, and dedication, yet each suffered his own Achilles’ heel as well. The book draws up important lessons for modern managers from a dramatic historical account of the victories, and defeats, of these two powerful generals.
Currently stationed in Iraq, the author, Charles R. Bowery Jr., is an aviation officer in the U.S. Army. As a historian specializing in the American Civil War, he has also taught at West Point. He agreed to an e-mail interview with HBS Working Knowledge about leadership and Lee & Grant; the interview follows.
Martha Lagace: Welcome, Major Bowery.Where are you now?
