My recommendation is "Forged In Crisis" by Nancy Koehn. Koehn, a historian at
Harvard Business School, profiles five famous leaders: Ernest Shackleton, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rachel Carson. Each of these individuals faced a profound and personal crisis.
Koehn profiles how they navigated those crises and how their experience in crisis fueled their resolve; she does a great job articulating the specific—and often subtle—lessons each learned. It's a wonderfully engrossing example of how leaders are made and the deeply personal nature of leadership. I found it prompted reflection about things like "gathering years" (in which progress is not seemingly being made, but in which we are learning, nurturing dreams, and fostering purpose), the courage of conviction amid ethical dilemmas, and the importance of writing.