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Learning from Experience
George P. Shultz recounts a lifetime of experiences in government, business, and academia and describes how those experiences have shaped the way he thinks about the world. In his plainspoken manner, he provides the reader with keys to understanding how he helped bring the nuclear disarmament movement into the mainstream of American policy discussions, why he urges his Republican Party colleagues to adopt measures to address climate change as an insurance policy for the future, why leaders must learn to govern over diversity, and more. Far more than a simple biography, Learning from Experience makes a unique contribution to political, social, and economic thought, offering the author’s reflections on experiences that have influenced his worldview. Ranging far beyond the realm of diplomacy, Shultz’s account illuminates America’s race relations, defines a down-to-earth economic philosophy built on free markets and fair treatment of labor, and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of presidential leadership as observed during his government service, including four cabinet posts, in the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan administrations.
- GenresHistory
184 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2016
12 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
George P. Shultz
51 books18 followersAmerican economist, statesman, and businessman. He served in various positions under three different Republican presidents, including Secretary of State, Treasury and Labor, as well as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
He graduated from Princeton University before serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, Shultz earned a PhD in industrial economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He taught at MIT from 1948 to 1957, taking a leave of absence to take a position on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Council of Economic Advisers. After serving as dean of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, he accepted President Richard Nixon's appointment to the position of United States Secretary of Labor. In that position, he imposed the Philadelphia Plan on construction contractors that refused to accept black members, marking the first use of racial quotas by the federal government. In 1970, he became the first Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and he served in that position until his appointment as United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1972. Shultz supported the Nixon shock, which sought to revive the ailing economy in part by abolishing the gold standard. He also presided over the end of the Bretton Woods system.
Schultz left the Nixon administration in 1974 to become an executive with Bechtel. After becoming president and director of that company, he accepted President Ronald Reagan's offer to serve as the United States Secretary of State. He held that office from 1982 to 1989. Shultz pushed for Reagan to establish relations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which led to a thaw between the United States and the Soviet Union. He opposed the U.S. aid to the Sandinistas which led to the Iran–Contra affair.
Shultz retired from public office in 1989 but remained active in the business and political world. He is a member of the Hoover Institution, the Institute for International Economics, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and other groups.
He graduated from Princeton University before serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, Shultz earned a PhD in industrial economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He taught at MIT from 1948 to 1957, taking a leave of absence to take a position on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Council of Economic Advisers. After serving as dean of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, he accepted President Richard Nixon's appointment to the position of United States Secretary of Labor. In that position, he imposed the Philadelphia Plan on construction contractors that refused to accept black members, marking the first use of racial quotas by the federal government. In 1970, he became the first Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and he served in that position until his appointment as United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1972. Shultz supported the Nixon shock, which sought to revive the ailing economy in part by abolishing the gold standard. He also presided over the end of the Bretton Woods system.
Schultz left the Nixon administration in 1974 to become an executive with Bechtel. After becoming president and director of that company, he accepted President Ronald Reagan's offer to serve as the United States Secretary of State. He held that office from 1982 to 1989. Shultz pushed for Reagan to establish relations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which led to a thaw between the United States and the Soviet Union. He opposed the U.S. aid to the Sandinistas which led to the Iran–Contra affair.
Shultz retired from public office in 1989 but remained active in the business and political world. He is a member of the Hoover Institution, the Institute for International Economics, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and other groups.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 10, 2018
Chock-full of advice from a man who served as a marine and held 4 cabinet-level positions, including Secretary of State under President Reagan. The lessons Secretary Shultz lays out can be applied to policy-making decisions but it is also solid advice for everyday life. We should all try to emulate Secretary Shultz and heed the lessons he learned from experience.
October 22, 2017
Short and concise but full of very useful information about a full career. He covers topics all over the map but as usual, you get the picture very quickly that this is a brilliant man in his own right and his course in history has been truly remarkable.
March 10, 2019
Nope. Unless you think the Reagan years are "the glory days" stay away from this book and this man's overzealous enthusiasm for the free market to solve all issues. As a special treat, he also writes about how he stood up for diversity when he let a black man sleep on a cot in his hotel room!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews