Ambition: The Secret Passion

"Ambition is not what it used to be," writes Joseph Epstein. The desire to get ahead no longer evokes the same admiration it once didâindeed, modern novelists seem hardly able to deal with ambition without a sneer. But is ambition necessarily synonymous with ruthless, narrow self-interest? Or, as Mr. Epstein suggests, is it "the fuel of achievement"âan honorable way to influence and advance civilization? Mr. Epsteinâs sketches of eminent Americansâfrom Benjamin Franklin (that premier go-getter) to Henry Ford, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adlai Stevenson, and the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedy dynastiesâand his pointed reconsideration of the ingredients of the American Dream (success, money, and power) form a fascinating social history, one that may change many readersâ attitudes toward their âsecret passion.â
"Should be must reading in executive suites as well as college classrooms."âForbes.
"Handled with a good amount of wit and with the clear, straightforward analysis of a man with a point of view. Like Samuel Johnson, [Epstein] reminds more often than he instructs."âJack Richardson, New York Times.
"To have so rich an intellectual fare so pleasurably served is rare. Read Ambition and feast."âSaturday Review.