World Generals

Modeled on the acclaimed Great Generals Series, which features the strategy and legacy of famous American generals, World Generals broadens the scope to include the world's finest military leaders. Each volume includes a foreword by General Wesley K. Clark and is coedited with an afterword by a different foreign general. This exciting series opens with "the Desert Fox," the most famous German field marshal in World War II, Erwin Rommel. A hero of the people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at blitzkrieg warfare. Both in France and North Africa he consistently outwitted his adversaries through his ability to sense the weak spot in his enemy's deployment and by the pace at which he conducted his operations. Rommel was seriously wounded in France just three days before the aborted attempt on Hitler's life. Rommel subsequently came under suspicion of being involved in the plot and, under pressure, committed suicide. Rommel displayed an outstanding ability to seize the initiative and retain it, and here, Charles Messenger draws on the skills behind this ability for the benefit of modern-day leaders. "WWII newsreels showed General Erwin Rommel as a dashing commander whose successes in North Africa made him a hero to Germans and earned him the moniker 'Desert Fox' among the Allies. Sixty years later, in a style as briskly paced as an armored attack, former Royal Tank Regiment officer Charles Messenger strips away the mythology to deliver the accurate portrait of an ambitious soldier who became Hitler's favorite general and nemesis of George Patton, explaining why Rommel's battlefield strategy and tactics should be studied by today's leaders." "Charles Messenger tells the story of Germany's most famous field marshal with a verve and brio reminiscent of his subject. Anyone seeking a concise account of Rommel's remarkable life and career need look no further." "A superior compact life of the German field marshal and tank expert, in which narrative and analysis are exceptionally well balanced."

Alexander the Great is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time and was known to be undefeated in battle. He is mentioned in the Bible as well as the Qur'an and is on the shortest of short lists whenever the world's best military leaders are catalogued. When asked to name other great military leaders, Caesar reportedly said Alexander was the only great one. Born in 356 B.C., the son of Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander the Great was educated by Aristotle, became a consummate horseman, and commanded a wing of his father's army in the victory over the Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea - all when he was still a teenager. By the time of his death at age thirty-two, he had united Greece and had amassed an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River and included all of Persia and most of Egypt. He ruled as both the shah of Persia and as a pharaoh of Egypt by right of conquest, and he was also crowned king of Asia. The scope of his military prowess remains awe inspiring to this day. Yenne's masterful biography shows Alexander's influence on the course of cultural and political history and discusses his leadership, strategy, and legacy. "Hugely experienced military historian Bill Yenne has added yet another glittering feather to his cap with this impeccably source-based account of the military Midas of the ancient world. One can only agree with General Wesley K. Clark that Alexander's legacy is enduringly informative." "An excellent survey of Alexander's exploits and a vivid reminder that the geopolitical landscape hasn't changed that much over the millennia." "Listeners hear why history has never forgotten this man or his influence. Narrator Paul Garcia never hesitates in crossing the vast sea of Greek, Arabic, and Latin words-never mind if we don't literally understand them. His skillful contribution, however, inflects them such that we can follow their context." "In Alexander the Great, as in all his many books, Bill Yenne displays his talent for succinctly painting the big picture with a series of fascinating details that make ancient history come alive. Only an author of his experience and capability could render the amazing story of Alexander the Great with such accuracy and feeling. Yenne grabs the reader on page one and doesn't let go until the book is ended with an intriguing chapter on what might have been if Alexander's life had not been cut short. This book will make us yearn for the return of a leader like Alexander to resolve our current wars in the Middle East."