America's Obsessives - Book Review

I just finished reading American Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation by Joshua Kendall.

This book takes a look at compulsive behavior which led to the success of a number of successful Americans including Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, Charles Lindberg, Melvil Dewey, H. J. Heinz, Ted Williams, and Estee Lauder.

This group suffered from what psychiatrists call Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Six  common symptoms of this disorder:

1. Preoccupation with details, rules, order, lists, organization of schedules

2. Perfectionism

3. Excess devotion to work

4. Inflexibility about matters of morality, ethics, or values

5. Reluctance to delegate tasks unless others submit to exactly his way of doing thing

6. Rigidity and stubbornness

Here's a link to a professional review