Habits of Churchill, Lessons from Napoleon, & The Holy Fire Inside Great Leaders — Andrew Roberts

Andrew Roberts has written twenty books, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages and have won thirteen literary prizes. These include Napoleon: A Life, Churchill: Walking with Destiny, and most recently, Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza, which he co-authored with General David Petraeus.

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Links to everything discussed: https://tim.blog/2024/10/17/andrew-roberts-churchill-napoleon/

Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running.

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[00:00] Start
[02:57] Expelled from Cranleigh school.
[04:00] Why MI6 considered Andrew for recruitment.
[07:02] The teacher who made history exciting to 10-year-old Andrew.
[10:18] Words Andrew avoids when writing about history.
[11:43] Are steady-nerved leaders naturally born or nurtured?
[13:37] The thinkers who influenced Winston Churchill and his sense of noblesse oblige.
[16:13] What made Napoleon Bonaparte the prime exemplar of war leadership?
[22:50] Lessons from Winston Churchill’s autobiography, My Early Life.
[24:41] Napoleon’s relationship with risk.
[27:52] Andrew’s signed letter from Aldous Huxley.
[29:22] When historical figures carry a sense of personal destiny.
[31:54] The meeting Andrew wishes he could have witnessed as a fly on the wall.
[34:47] When historical villains carry a sense of personal destiny.
[37:18] What Churchill and Napoleon learned from their mistakes.
[40:10] “Dear Diary…”
[41:52] Maintaining creative flow during the writing process.
[45:13] On working with brilliant publisher Stuart Proffitt (aka Professor Perfect).
[50:59] Why are some significant figures immortalized while others go the way of Ozymandias?
[56:04] Thoughts on personal legacy.
[57:27] Fiction favorites.
[01:00:16] Being objective about the history of imperialism.
[01:01:49] The challenges of teaching and learning history today.
[01:05:09] Why “Study history” is Andrew’s coat of arms motto.
[01:09:07] What Andrew, as a history expert, sees for the future.
[01:13:00] Counteracting natural pessimism.
[01:14:40] What to expect from Andrew’s latest book Conflict (co-authored with David Petraeus).
[01:18:43] Upcoming book projects.
[01:19:48] Parting thoughts.