In this ambitious volume, Samuels (political science, MIT) maintains a comparative approach as he examines specific cases in Italy and Japan of leaders making choices despite varying levels of constraints to do so. Different types of choices are paired in order to reduce an undue stress on either individual or structural explanations. A main theme in the comparisons is the range of factors behind leadership qualities and the varied results and influences leaders can carry. The cases considered come from the 19th and 20th centuries and include examples from Hara Kei, Muto Sanji, Mussolini, Alcide De Gasperi, and Ishihara Shintaro. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)