How the Best Did It is an accessible and insightful explanation of how the most important leadership traits from America’s eight greatest presidents can be implemented by today’s leaders.

“A discerning examination of what all of us can learn from some of our most effective leaders who have held—and wielded—ultimate power at the highest level.” —Jon Meacham

The President of the United States is the most powerful leader in the world. He’s called to make the nation’s most impactful decisions while maintaining the support of the multitudes. Though many have failed at the job, a select few have led America to new heights, and how they did it is worthy of study.

 How the Best Did It takes the leadership lessons gained from our greatest presidents and makes them instructive today for all leaders who seek to enhance their performance.

• Want to get promoted without being seen as a self-promoter? Do what Washington did.
• Want to reduce conflict among your group’s factions? Do what Jefferson did.
• Want to know how to take the high road when major problems arise? Do what Lincoln did.
• Want to expand your power into entirely new areas of influence? Do what Theodore Roosevelt did.
• Want to move the needle steadily until ultimate goals are achieved? Do what Franklin Roosevelt did.
• Want to have your team work like a well-oiled machine? Do what Eisenhower did.
• Want to grow in expertise while leading? Do what Kennedy did.
• Want to inspire optimism throughout your enterprise? Do what Reagan did.

Based on Talmage Boston’s sound evaluations, which have been endorsed by America’s leading presidential historians, every chapter ends with a self-examination questionnaire that allows the reader to evaluate his or her own leadership skills.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Talmage Boston is a well-known fi gure among leading historians as an author, speaker, and onstage interviewer. His work has been endorsed by David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, Douglas Brinkley, Annette-Gordon-Reed, Evan Thomas, and H.W. Brands, as well as many other esteemed presidential biographers.

Boston is the author of Cross-Examining History (foreword by Ken Burns), Raising the Bar (foreword by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh), Baseball and the Baby Boomer (foreword by Frank Deford), and 1939: Baseball’s Tipping Point (foreword by John Grisham). He is also one of the most highly recognized lawyers in Texas, having been chosen for three major statewide awards in the last four years by the Texas Bar Foundation and the State Bar of Texas’ Litigation Section. Boston has been named a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Thompson Reuters every year since 2003, and among the “Best Lawyers in America” every year since 2013. He is the only lawyer to receive a “Presidential Citation” from eight different presidents of the State Bar of Texas for outstanding service to the State Bar.

Working as both a full-time commercial litigator and a full-time historian throughout the twenty-first century, Boston’s varied experience and notable achievements in both fields make him uniquely qualified to write How the Best Did It due to his knowledge of history, his skills as a writer, and his vast experience in business and law. In November 2023, Boston was recognized by the Dallas Historical Society as “The History Maker of the Year” in the field of promoting history in North Texas.

David O. Stewart (author of George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father) on the George Washington chapter:
“In How the Best Did It, Talmage Boston demonstrates rare gifts in sifting gold nuggets from the endless gravel beds of known facts about eight leading presidents, then delivering them concisely and persuasively. In his insightful study of George Washington, he finds the core of America’s first great leader without exaggerating his talents, and makes him someone from whom we can learn and cherish.”

Annette Gordon-Reed (Pulitzer-winning historian and coauthor of Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination) on the Thomas Jefferson chapter:
“Thomas Jefferson was one the most effective American leaders of his time, creating a political party that dominated American politics for more than a quarter of a century. With great insight and clear writing, Talmage Boston brings Jefferson to life as the talented leader who shaped the course of early American society.”

Ronald C. White Jr. (author of A. Lincoln and three other notable books on Lincoln) on the Abraham Lincoln chapter:
“Talmage Boston offers a wise and wide-ranging understanding of Lincoln’s leadership qualities. What makes Boston’s chapter distinct is the personal questions that challenge the reader to apply Lincoln’s values to their lives today.”