When the leader of a nation becomes ill, the decisions made can change the course of history. Lord Owen, both a distinguished politician and a physician, has long been interested in the effects of a leader's health on governance. He gives examples of world leaders, from Woodrow Wilson to the Shah of Iran, who had major health problems while in office and how those around them coped. Some illnesses were hidden; others, like LBJ's gall bladder, proudly displayed. But it is in the area of mental health that Owen makes his most provocative and tenuous statements. His conclusions are that many leaders had/have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, bi-polar syndrome or bouts with clinical depression. He feels that these can combine to produce a form of megalomania known as "hubris syndrome." The split between physical and mental illness in this entertainingly gossipy study is not made clearly in his conclusions. Owen's final suggestion, that the UN recognize dangerous mental states in world leaders and depose them, seems guaranteed to elicit controversy. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)