Men on Horseback: The Power of Charisma in the Age of Revolution

Placeholder author icon
By David A. Bell *91

Published July 21, 2021

In his new book, Bell explores the qualities that define political leadership in a revolutionary age that shunned monarchs endowed by divine right. Drawing from the reigns of Pasquale Paoli, Toussaint Louverture, and Simon Bolivar, Men on Horseback argues that the history of democracy is inextricable from the history of charisma.

Paw in print

Image
Terri Sewell ’86 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, stands next to a portrait of civil rights leader John Lewis.
The Latest Issue

November 2026

History is in Terri Sewell ’86’s hands; campus mental health culture; the two Princetons.