The best book on leadership I've read. Douglas Hyde, a british ex-communist leader, exposes the methodological success of Communism. He doesn't delve into Communism's ideological fallacies (although alluded to). He rather lays out communistic functions that led to it's incredible growth in such a short period of time. Throughout the book he comments on both Communist and Chritian potentials that culminates in the choice between total Communism or total Christianity. One of the most intriguing chapters is "The Story of Jim." Hyde told those in a Communist leader seminar that the Communist party could take anyone willing to be trained in leadership and make a leader. Hyde describes Jim as, 'very short, grotesquely fat, with a flabby white face, a cast in one eye and, to make matters worse, a most destressing stutter.' You'll need to read the book to see what became of Jim.

For many years Hyde was a leader of the Communist Party in Great Britain. In 1948, the Communist stalwart shocked all Britain by resigning as editor of the daily paper of the British Communist Party and leaving the Party.

        He became a Christian and wrote Dedication and Leadership as a guide to political skills for anti-communists, particularly Christians. After reading it, you will understand why communism endured for so long. Much of its success, Hyde shows, was due to its use of philosophically neutral techniques of communication, recruitment, training and organization.

I led a men's group and we studied this book throughout the semester, one chapter at a time. It was a very good choice, as it turned out, because it forced us as Christians to examine our own lives in light of what Mr. Hyde had to say about the value of various techniques.

The other reviews here are quite accurate: the book clearly demonstrates how effective Communists are at bringing in new recruits and immediately putting them to work. The value in this is that they begin to identify themselves with the movement and ask questions. Then come the study groups, which are responding to a felt need on the part of the participants.

Reading this book convicted me of my behavior and the behavior I call others to. Look at Jesus' response to people who came up and asked him if they could join him. He didn't say "Great! Bring all your stuff to be comfortable and have a great time!" He said "Drop everything in your life and follow me alone. I will ask everything of you." He wouldn't even allow someone to go to his father's funeral ("Let the dead bury their own dead.")

What is our response as Christians to new believers? So often we want to make things as easy as possible. Don't challenge them too much or they might get discouraged and fall away. Mr. Hyde gives the opposite answer: ask a great deal of new believers and you will see great fruit. Ask a little, and you deserve what you get.