Daniels on Deane Jr., 'Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam'


John R. Deane Jr. Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam. Edited by Jack C. Mason. American Warrior Series. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2018. 304 pp. $50.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8131-7494-5.

Reviewed by Benjamin Daniels (American Military University)
Published on H-War (October, 2020)
Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University)

Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55538

Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam by Retired General John R. Deane Jr. offers the aspiring military or corporate leader an allegory for leadership as told through Deane’s life. While Deane’s life experience is certainly storied and fanciful—spanning some of the most crucial moments in recent military history—readers should not expect a cleanly written categorical approach to developing leadership, rather they should approach Deane’s work conversationally. Jack C. Mason’s stylistic choice of blending biography with leadership asides is jarring in some places, but it succeeds in demystifying the military jargon to make the work more accessible to corporate-level readers. Using first-hand accounts from the eyewitness, paired with historically contextual asides, Mason effectively presents a biography of Deane’s life while letting some of the more important lessons go by unnoticed.

Lessons in Leadership begins with a foreword written by the work’s editor, Mason. Early, Mason establishes that Deane was a man who “stood out among the rest” and at ninety-three was still a “commanding presence in the room,” which Deane used effectively to “draw you in, and with his sharp wit and humor, he knew how to spin a tale” (p. viii). This brings the reader to a place of “faux reverence” much like how a master of ceremonies recounts the accolades and breadth of experience before the announcement of a keynote speaker. Deane’s—or rather Mason’s—work compiles “written notes, and collected stories, and interviews over the years [of Deane’s life] for the purpose of documenting his career” (p. ix). This is both helpful and hurtful in the retelling of a fascinating life. Some of the transitions and recollections are odd and feel largely out of place, detouring into digressions only to leap back onto the main road without warning.

Conceptually, the allegorical approach can be effective in recounting the life of a historical figure. But Lessons in Leadership could have greatly benefited from a higher level of organization and categorization. The heart of the book seems split between self-improvement and autobiography. This stems from a misleading title creating disjointed expectations and a fundamental lack of categorizing lessons for dissemination. The question becomes, is this a book filled with vignettes of leadership that are organized for easy digestion by corporate leaders? Or is it an autobiography in which the reader must determine for themselves the valuable takeaways? This determination is left in the hands of the readers, which causes inconsistencies in the reception of the intended lessons.

This is not to say that Lessons in Leadership is an ineffective book. On the contrary, how the story is told beckons the reader into self-reflection and self-improvement. The work could be read as a biography of a man who served the United States faithfully for ninety-plus years, or it can be examined critically as a case study in leading with confidence: for instance, General Deane’s confrontation on the Berlin Wall while leading the Second Battle Group, Sixth infantry Regiment. During a patrol, Deane encountered an East German water tank that was firing a “high-velocity spray” across the wall to frighten the Western soldiers (p. 103). Deane—determined to give no ground—stood in defiance against the cannon and did not waver when the East Germans sprayed all around his tank forming a “perfect ‘V’ right where [he] was standing” (p. 105). This show of daring leadership in the face of a potential international incident is one example where Mason asks the reader to extract the lessons on their own.

There are however a few salient points that can be extracted from Deane’s work: stay sharp, surround yourself with good people, evaluate all avenues of approach, and stay engaged. These four pillars gird the framework in which Deane’s story is told. If the reader can overlook the occasional awkwardness in wording and transitions, they will be better equipped to develop themselves into more effective leaders that can pierce through the monotony of life and inspire those around them. Lessons in Leadership is an allegorical approach to an autobiography that hinders the delivery in several places. However, it is an easily accessible book that will serve to enhance the underlying leadership qualities in most people.

Citation: Benjamin Daniels. Review of Deane Jr., John R., Lessons in Leadership: My Life in the US Army from World War II to Vietnam. H-War, H-Net Reviews. October, 2020.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55538

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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