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Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World
Celebrated leadership expert and political scientist Gautam Mukunda provides a comprehensive, objective, and non-partisan method for answering the most important question in the is someone up to the job of president of the United States?
In Picking Presidents, Gautam Mukunda sets his sights on presidential candidates, proposing an objective and tested method to assess whether they will succeed or fail if they win the White House. Combining political science, psychology, organizational behavior, and economics, Picking Presidents will enable every American to cast an informed vote.
In his 2012 book Indispensable, which all but predicted the Trump presidency, Mukunda explained how both the very best and very worst leaders are "unfiltered"—outsiders who take power without the understanding or support of traditional elites. Picking Presidents provides deep analysis of filtered and unfiltered presidents alike, from failed haberdasher and skillful president Harry Truman, to the exceptionally well-qualified—and ultimately reviled—James Buchanan; from Andrew Johnson, who set civil rights back by a century, to Theodore Roosevelt, who evaded party opposition to transform American society. Picking Presidents lays out a clear framework that anyone can use to judge a candidate and answer the all-important are they up to the job?
In Picking Presidents, Gautam Mukunda sets his sights on presidential candidates, proposing an objective and tested method to assess whether they will succeed or fail if they win the White House. Combining political science, psychology, organizational behavior, and economics, Picking Presidents will enable every American to cast an informed vote.
In his 2012 book Indispensable, which all but predicted the Trump presidency, Mukunda explained how both the very best and very worst leaders are "unfiltered"—outsiders who take power without the understanding or support of traditional elites. Picking Presidents provides deep analysis of filtered and unfiltered presidents alike, from failed haberdasher and skillful president Harry Truman, to the exceptionally well-qualified—and ultimately reviled—James Buchanan; from Andrew Johnson, who set civil rights back by a century, to Theodore Roosevelt, who evaded party opposition to transform American society. Picking Presidents lays out a clear framework that anyone can use to judge a candidate and answer the all-important are they up to the job?
- GenresPolitics
289 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2022
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90 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 23, 2024
I was disappointed in this book. I agree with the general premise that we need to do a better job of selecting our presidents and a series of filters are a better way of ensuring the right people run. Beyond this I’m underwhelmed with this book’s arguments. From its poor definition of unfiltered (TR really was unfiltered) to a final conclusion that “we all need to do better”, it lacked the strong series of recommendations based on history that I expected. It’s short but I expected more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
Remarkably prescient. The recommendations for reform towards the end of the book are worth considering.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews