50 Military Leaders Who Changed the World Review

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(More customer reviews)William Weir's book is a very informative and far-reaching book, showcasing the 50 military leaders he believes to be the most influential
the world has ever known.
You may wonder why famous military generals and strategists such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Richard the Lionhearted, Scipio Africanus, or the Duke of Wellington are not named in this distinguished list. Weir omits them because, although they were more famous, or talented, his book only focuses on people of impact, and, as he compellingly argues, talent and fame don't automatically translate into influence on a global scale.
He offers a fairly decent look at military conquest and strategy, in this most intriguing book, which makes a great companion to two of his other books, 50 Battles That Changed the World, and 50 Weapons that Changed Warfare.
50 Military Leaders is a treasure trove of info. on little known facts about the military greats and the battles they fought, and will greatly broaden your historical perspective about the fascinating world they helped to shape.

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50 Military Leaders That Changed the World does not celebrate warfare, but rather shines its spotlight on the leaders the author believes have had the greatest impact on world history. The 50 Military Leaders That Changed the World weren't necessarily the "best" leaders, the most innovative strategists, craftiest tacticians, or even the bravest, smartest, or most admirable people. They were, however, the men and women who, for good or ill, entered the field of battle and left the world much changed upon their exit. You will easily recognize some of the names — George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Charlemagne, Horatio Nelson, and Ulysses S. Grant, among others. And you may be stumped by those that only a historian could claim to know, like Yi Sun Shin, Tuhril Beg, Chandragupta, and Sargon of Akkad. Some, like Genghis Khan, were brilliant. Others, like Ivan the Terrible, were mediocre generals, at best. While Joan of Arc is officially a saint, Adolf Hitler is universally considered a monster, Attila the Hun raped, pillaged, and brutally killed thousands, and Mao Zedong killed millions, more than even Hitler.But each and every of them changed history. You may remember some or most of the men and women in this book. You may honor some, revile others. But after reading 50 Military Leaders That Changed the World, you won't deny that these are the leaders who made the greatest impact on our brief history on this planet. You may be equally interested in those who were relegated to "honorable mentions" (military leaders who changed the world...but not enough), including Hannibal, William Wallace and Fidel Castro. And those who were omitted from list entirely, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, George S. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur.

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Brute: The Life of Victor Krulak, U.S. Marine Review

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(More customer reviews)Robert Coram is a national treasure and the recent release of BRUTE confirms his position as one of America's premier military biographers. Mr. Coram took the straight and true method of portraying a genuine great man, but not in absence of his humanity. As Norman Maclean observes in his classic A River Runs Through It, man is a "damned mess;" even the great and the hero has flaws, and General Krulak was no exception. Coram correctly observes in the Acknowledgements:
"Some aspects of Brute Krulak's early years are disturbing. I elected to take an explanatory stance toward those years. Some will say I should have replaced the frail reed of sympathy with the righteous sword of judgement. But my sins as a young man were scarlet, and they were many. I do not consider those green actions the defining moments of my life and if I am to be measured, let it be by the deeds of my later years. Here I afforded Brute Krulak what I would ask for myself."
Wow! It would be nice if more biographer's used such a perspective; as a great man once said to me, "It is not how you start, it is how you finish."
General Krulak did his Corps proud and sometimes it was not pretty, but he held a passionate love for his country and his Corps. Mr. Coram presents a man of single minded purpose, who kept his Corps relevant because he knew that is what America wanted and continues to need. Mr. Coram traces the life story of a man driven to achieve and contribute. From General Krulak's contributions to the development in the years leading up to WWII of amphibious warfare as a core competency to his largely rejected ideas of counterinsurgency warfare in Vietnam, Mr. Coram paints the portrait of a man of substance, intellect, and passion. Our country needs more senior officers who have the courage of their convictions and tell the truth to their civilian leaders---especially when what needs to be said isn't pleasant.
I read BRUTE in two sittings and enjoyed it thoroughly.
If you enjoyed Mr. Coram's biographies of John Boyd and Bud Day, get this book and read it! Highest recommendation!!

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Korea Strait: A Novel (Dan Lenson Novels) Review

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KOREA STRAIT is the tenth in a series that follows the naval career of Dan Lenson. He began his missions in THE MED (first published twenty years ago) as a young lieutenant. These days thirty-nine-year-old Commander Lenson wears a Congressional Medal of Honor decoration but his high-profile history is a hot potato for his commanding officer. When Dan refuses to retire early, he's assigned to what should be a routine and inglorious shipboard tour in the Orient. He's to command a TAG (Tactical Analysis Group) gathering information during joint war game exercises with South Korea, Japan and Australia in the Korea Strait. Of course, Dan's timing is impeccable and while he's afloat on the South Korean flagship, Chung Nam, the games tracking friendly targets are interrupted by a genuine attack by a squad of subs. The TAG commander is a "rider" with no command authority on the Chung Nam. But he and his team, determined to stand by an ally, disobey orders to evacuate (crossdeck) along with the rest of the American presence. Faced with typhoon seas and an unidentified enemy; Lenson aids Commodore Jung and the ship's company in such diverse ways as, among other things, calculating threat probabilities on his laptop and working with a belowdeck repair and rescue detail. The battle rages... and then the true destructive power of the enemy's weapons is discovered. Now, Dan must convince his superiors to approve a daring proposal in hopes of preventing mutual destruction in the strait!
This thriller is highly engrossing in many respects besides the tautly-told main plot of battle against foe and sea. For instance, it convincingly portrays the tensions and strains that an American naval officer could experience aboard a foreign nation's ship. A few of the South Korean officers speak passable English, and they teach Dan a few phrases of Korean, but the language barrier isolates Dan and seriously impairs the allies' abilities to work together. Chung Nam's captain despises Lenson's sometimes ugly-Americanness, and the commodore's aloof leadership challenges Dan. Basically, Dan can't help feeling like a fish out of water in a navy so alien. Even his digestive system is thrown wildly out of whack by the food and the stress, leaving Dan in less than fighting trim during combat.
But here is one nit to be picked: the narrative's formulaic inserts occasionally break the surface. We learn one of Lenson's team has a penchant for underage Korean girls, and sure enough, he gets himself arrested. That plot is ripped from past headlines about American military men and Asian host countries' women. And what do you think happens to another man, whose command decision on his own ship cost some sailors their lives? Does he get a chance to redeem himself? KOREA STRAIT can and does lean into the predictable.
On the whole, though, Poyer delivers a suspenseful and, unfortunately, plausible scenario. The real world Koreas, China, Japan, and America all have great stakes in that ongoing political and military brinksmanship. One of these days KOREA STRAIT might not be fiction anymore. KOREA STRAIT is an expert tale of the modern Navy, authored by a real pro. (nearly 4.5 stars)

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