Two things off the bat that I was impressed with in John Maxwells new "Leadership Handbook" were the chapters were not overly long AND there were application and mentor moments accompanying each chapter. The conclusion reminds the reader of the beginning and that was to take time and learn and / or teach the material. When I read it the first time at the beginning of the book I hesitated to believe that this was a book I should live out the lesson a week and teach it to someone else the next week. By the end of the book my thought had changed - the nuggets of truth in each chapter are such that I want to go back and slowly work through and teach my team these truths.

Reading thru each of these chapters I was encouraged and challenged in how I can grow as a person and also as a leader. John Maxwell does an excellent job telling you a story and then bringing home practical application of the truths presented. The book also refers to other books he has written that are more in depth on the topics that he presents in each chapter. This is a good book that covers topics at a high altitude, you will want to go in depth on some topics using other leadership or Maxwell books.

I would recommend this book for leaders and it would be a good teaching tool with a team on leadership topics.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Book Look for Bloggers and the Publishers in exchange for my opinions on this book.

When someone mentions the name John Maxwell my brain immediately floods back to a time about four years ago. I had the privilege to hear him speak at a conference I attended. Although he was one of the eldest, if not the oldest speaker there, he captivated me more than a lot of the younger speakers. The words he spoke carried so much weight. I knew he believed every word he spoke because it was done out of passion. It was not an angry passion either, but rather as a reflective person who had fought more battles than most would in their lifetime. But, enough about the man, we need to talk about his book.

The Leadership Handbook is full of wisdom for young and old leaders alike. In fact, it is full of information even if you do not consider yourself a leader. I feel like anyone could read this book and gain useful insight in how to process people regardless of if you are leading anyone or not. There is no shortage of one-liners and other nuggets of truth by Maxwell.

Maxwell proposes taking the time to process every short chapter and allow your brain to comb over the words for at least a week. He gives provoking questions at the end of every chapter and even a mentoring snippet for you to mentor someone else.

If I had to find a fault in The Leadership Handbook, it would be that Maxwell references a lot of his other books. This is not unusual for an author of his caliber, but it is a small off-putting habit.

I am confident that this book will be one I mention to other leaders and will forever remain on my bookshelf. Get this book if you know a leader, consider yourself a leader, want to be a leader, or simply want to understand people better.

I received this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Leadership Handbook: 26 critical lessons every leader needs is a pretty typical offering from author John Maxwell. You will find good principles, funny stories, practical lessons, insightful quotes, but zero biblical content. He includes ideas like, "Don't send your duck to eagle school," "If it's lonely at the top, you're not doing something right," "Be a connector, not just a climber," and many more. While the material is good, the book does not present any new insights as this volume is a rerelease of his book Leadership Gold, which was originally published in 2008.

Maxwells recommendation is that the reader take one chapter per week or every other week so you have time to think through the principles. Each lesson stands on its own rather than build on previous ones. Each lesson ends with several application exercises to help the reader put the lesson into practice in his or her life. There is also a mentoring moment at the end of each principle for those who want to invest in the next generation.

I was disappointed after discovering the book was a rerelease of his previous work. I expected new insights rather than old ones. Needless to say, that colors my view of this volume. I also found it a bit self-promoting when the author quoted himself and his previous works.

If the reader is not familiar with Maxwells work, you will find the material helpful. However, if you are familiar with his work, you might be disappointed as I was.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com http://BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.