Great Generals

Colorful, charismatic, and controversial, George Armstrong Custer became a national hero at the age of twenty-three when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general-barely two years after graduating at the bottom of his class from West Point. He was idolized both by his men and by the American public, though he endured two courts-martial and temporary dismissal from the Army. Custer pushed himself harder and longer than most, owing to an intense ambition to succeed and a hunger for glory and fame. He was contemptuous of danger, taking chances that no one else would take, which earned him the reputation among some observers of being reckless. Redeeming himself through his actions at the front, he resurrected his former glory with a stunning victory over the Cheyenne Indians using tactics he had perfected during the Civil War. General Custer was one of those larger-than-life figures whose flamboyant personality, daring, and seeming invincibility became legendary. Here, author Duane Schultz shows why he remains one of the most fascinating figures in American military history.

General Robert E. Lee was a complicated man and military figure. In Robert E. Lee, Noah Andre Trudeau follows the general's Civil War path with a special emphasis on Lee's changing set of personal values as the conflict wended through four bloody years and by exploring his famous skills as a crafty and daring tactician. Trudeau adds a fresh perspective toward understanding a major figure in American history who remains decidedly an enigma.

Sherman is not only one of the most important generals in the American Civil War, but also one of the most famous commanders in the military annals of the western world. He has become an almost mythical character in popular memory, the embodiment of grim-visaged, implacable war. Legend has him burning a sixty-mile-wide swath of desolation across the South, and southerners still confidently assert that their ancestors were burned out by Sherman and his vandal hordes. Sherman famously said, "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it," and yet, even at his most destructive, he maintained strict limits on the degree of damage his soldiers could inflict. Sherman's wartime career makes a fascinating study of the degree to which the severity of war can be channeled, directed, and limited-especially as it relates to the current war in Iraq.

Before he became "the Father of our Country," George Washington was the Father of the American Army. He took an army that had no experience, no tradition, and no training, and fought a protracted war against the best, most disciplined force in the world-the British Army. Deftly handling the political realm, Washington convinced Congress to keep his army supplied-a difficult task when the country was really just a loose confederation of states with no power to tax. Washington influenced every phase of the Revolutionary war, from beginning to end. He left his mark with strategies and a vision of the Revolution as a war of attrition. His offenses were as brilliant as they were unpredictable, such as his legendary Christmas Day strike at Trenton, and a bold foray through the fog to nearly drive the British from the field at Germantown. It was an aggressive attack that helped convince the French that the American Army was worth supporting. In Washington, award-winning author Gerald M. Carbone argues that it is this sort of fearless but not reckless, spontaneous but calculated, offensive that Washington should be remembered for-as a leader not of infallibility but of greatness.

General George C. Marshall was a skillful and compassionate leader with a unique legacy. He never fired a shot during WWII and led no troops into battle-his brilliance was purely strategic and diplomatic, and incredibly effective. He was responsible for the building, supplying, and, in part, the deployment of over eight million soldiers. In 1947, as Secretary of State, he created the Marshall Plan, a sweeping economic recovery effort that pulled the war-shattered European nations out of ruin, and gave impetus to NATO and the European Common Market. It was for the Marshall Plan that he won the Nobel Peace Prize-the only time in history a military commander has ever been awarded this honor. Marshall's skilled combination of military strategy and politics, emphasis on planning as well as execution, and his expertise in nation-building holds lessons for military and civilian leaders today.

Deemed "irreplaceable" by Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson assumed his nickname during the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. It is said that The Army of Northern Virginia never fully recovered from the loss of Stonewall's leadership when he was accidentally shot by one of his own men and died in 1863. Davis highlights Stonewall Jackson's a general who emphasized the importance of reliable information and early preparedness (he so believed in information that he had a personal mapmaker with him at all times) and details Jackson's many lessons in strategy and leadership.

American general and 34th president of the United States, Eisenhower was the principal architect of the successful Allied invasion of Europe during World War II and of the subsequent defeat of Nazi Germany. World War II expert John Wukovits explores Dwight D. Eisenhower's contributions to American warfare. American general and 34th president of the United States, Eisenhower led the assault on the French coast at Normandy and held together the Allied units through the European campaign that followed. The book reveals Eisenhower's advocacy in the pre-war years of the tank, his friendships with George Patton and Fox Conner, his service in the Philippines with Douglas MacArthur, and his culminating role as supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe. Wukovits skillfully demonstrates how Eisenhower's evolution as a commander, his military doctrine, and his diplomatic skills are of extreme importance in understanding modern warfare.

Alan Axelrod applies his signature insight and compelling prose to the life, strategy and legacy of the general Bradley who remains the model for all commanders today as the man who revolutionized the National Guard, shaped the US army's focus on the individual soldier, and emphasized cooperation and coordination among the military services--a cornerstone of modern U.S. military doctrine. Dubbed by the World War II press as "The GI General" because of his close identification with his men, Omar Bradley rose to command the U. S. 12th Army Group in the European Campaign. By the spring of 1945, this group contained 1,300,000 men--the largest exclusively American field command in U.S. history. Mild mannered, General Bradley was a dedicated mentor, the creator of the Officer Candidate School system, and a methodical tactician who served through World War II. Then, as a five-star general, he lifted the Veterans Administration from corruption and inefficiency to a model government agency, served as U.S. Army chief of staff, first chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and head of NATO.

Grant: A Biography tells of the extraordinary life and legacy of one of America's most ingenious military minds A modest and unassuming man, Grant never lost a battle, leading the Union to victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War, ultimately becoming President of the reunited states. Grant revolutionized military warfare by creating new leadership tactics by integrating new technologies in classical military strategy. In this compelling biography, John Mosier reveals the man behind the military legend, showing how Grant's creativity and genius off the battlefield shaped him into one of our nation's greatest military leaders.

LeMay was a terrifying, complex, and brilliant general. In World War II, he ordered the firebombing of Tokyo and was in charge when Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was responsible for tens of thousands of civilian deaths-a fact he liked to celebrate by smoking Cuban cigars. But, LeMay was also the man who single-handedly transformed the American air force from a ramshackle team of poorly trained and badly equipped pilots into one of the fiercest and most efficient weapons of the war. Over the last decades, most U.S. military missions were carried out entirely through the employment of the Air Force; this is LeMay's legacy. Packed with breathtaking battles in the air and inspiring leadership tactics on the ground, LeMay will keep readers on their edge of their seats.