100 Great Military Leaders

From ancient Greece to Desert Storm, Military Commanders presents a chronological history of great battles and the men who won them. Beginning with Leonidas of Sparta, who died at Thermopylae and ending with Colin Powell, this book includes such world famous leaders as Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Grant and Lee, Patton and Rommel. In addition, it includes the military theorist Sun Tzu, who wrote "The Art of War," as well as lesser known but important figures, such as Red Cloud, Shaka Zulu, and General Giap. Military Commanders, containing pertinent quotations, anecdotes, and detailed facts is a highly-readable combination of history and biography.

Beginning with Leonides of Sparta, who died at Thermopylae in 480 b.c.e., and ending with General Giap, a Vietnamese leader; Moshe Dayan, commander of the Israeli Defense Force during the 1967 Six-Day War; and Colin Powell, 100 Great Military Leaders provides an informative overview of the careers and battles of one hundred military commanders and their places in history. Divided by eras, the material covers the ancient world, the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings, the Middle Ages, the Napoleonic period, the American War of Independence and the Civil War, the two World Wars, and the postwar conflicts. Each entry provides a chronology of major events as well as a summary of achievements. The entries, both fascinating and easy to read, succeed in providing a clear yet nuanced picture of the role of the individual in historical events. An engaging and thought-provoking book, full of facts, pertinent quotations, and anecdotes, 100 Great Military Leaders is sure to prove of interest to a wide range of readers.

"For more than two hundred years African Americans have fought for their own personal freedom as well as that of their fellow Americans. Blacks contributed to the success of the revolution that gained the country, but not its slaves, their independence. Blacks played a significant role in preserving the union in the Civil War and securing their own freedom. From the expanse of the American West to the heights of San Juan Hill, from the trenches of France to the heartlands of Germany and Japan, from the icy mountain ridges of Korea to the thick jungles of Vietnam and the sands of the Persian Gulf, African Americans have performed loyally and bravely." —From The African-American Soldier In this moving and revealing account, Michael Lee Lanning brings to life the battles in which African Americans fought so courageously to become full citizens by risking their lives for their country. This updated edition includes analyses of African-American soldiers' involvement in recent U.S. conflicts, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Michael Lee Lanning serves as public affairs officer for General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. He has spent more than twenty years on active duty in the United States Army. He has written nine books of military history, including The Military 100 and Senseless Secrets. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

A profusely illustrated overview of the careers and campaigns of the world's greatest commanders This authoritative and magnificentlyl illustrated book examines the entire history of the war through the eyes of the leading protagonists, from Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BC to Vo Nguyen Giap in the twentieth century. Truly worldwide in scope, the book ranges from China to India to Africa, and from Europe to the Americas, focusing in detail on more than one hundred major military leaders, their associates, and their opponents. All the great commanders are here: Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Saladin, Chingiz Khan, Napolean, Wellington, Nelson, Ulysses S. Grant, Erich von Manstein, and Georgy Zhukov. So too are less familiar figures, such as Jan Žižka and János Hunyadi, bold Czech and Hungarian leaders of the Middle Ages; Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "Napolean of Japan"; and Nader Shah, the Persian conqueror of the eighteenth century. The large format allows for a full display of the illustrations, from portraits and battlefield scenes to weapons and uniforms, plus spectacular battle reconstructions. There are specially comissioned campaign maps for each major leader, plus a reference section that includes concise biographies of 250 commanders. Jeremy Black is professor of History at the University of Exeter and the author or editor of many books, including The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare and The Seventy Great Battles in History.

Which military leaders have dominated their times and exerted profound influence on the world? From the famous George Washington to the infamous Adolf Hitler to the obscure General Giap, this book attempts to provide the answer. In biographical sketches, the author chronicles the lives and accomplishments of the world's most influential military leaders, and, more controversially, ranks them.

The two hundred personalities described in this book have a fair claim to being the most significant in the last thousand years of military history. They include warrior kings and sultans, field marshals and ministers, tribal chiefs and junior officers.Along with the great captains of war, whose exploits achieved conquests unrivaled in recorded history, this volume provides accounts of the careers of lesser-known, even obscure, figures whose actions represent with particular clarity the military events and climates of their times. Even the negative effects of infamous and incompetent generals are detailed.With insights into their early training and development, the stories unfold of such superb commanders as: -- Frederick Barbarossa, Richard Lionheart, Genghiz Khan -- Joan of Arc, Selim I, Gustavus Adolphus -- Frederick the Great, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte -- Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Geronimo -- Dwight Eisenhower, Erwin Rommel, George PattonWhenever possible, the authors enliven the factual accounts of careers and campaigns with glimpses into the characters and personalities of these men, who excelled in a calling which has always been colored by the personal touch.