A master historian's excavations into the past unearth a world that is unexpected and compelling. George Washington was inaugurated as president in 1789 with one tooth in his mouth; a lower left bicuspid. The Father of His Country had sets of false teeth that were made of everything but wood; from elephant ivory and walrus tusk to the teeth of a fellow human. With characteristic learning and bracing insight; Robert Darnton shows us that the Enlightenment had false teeth alsothat it was not the Father of Our Modern World; responsible for all its advances and transgressions. In restoring the Enlightenment to human scale; Darnton locates its real aims; ambitions; and significance. So too with the French Revolution; another icon of the eighteenth century; approached here through the gossip; songs; and broadsides that formed the political nervous system of Paris in the Old Regime. Figures we think we knowVoltaire; Jefferson; Rousseau; Condorcet; even historians themselvesemerge afresh in Darnton's hands; their vitality; if not their teeth; intact. 17 b/w illustrations.
#708359 in Books Bevin Alexander 2002-06-17 2002-06-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.30 x .80 x 5.50l; .81 #File Name: 0393323161320 pagesHow Great Generals Win
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fantastic Book!!!By Edward AndersonCan't say enough about this book or any of the other books this author has written!!! If anyone wants to study tactics and strategies to WIN a war or in Life; THIS is the book to get. I know; because I have read all of the other books (Sun Tzu; Clausewitz; etc. etc.)and none hold a candle to this one!!!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great Analysis of Winning StrategiesBy Nick HowesA look at the factors that led great military leaders throughout history to succeed. As Sun Tzu recommended; many used misdirection. Stonewall Jackson excelled at misdirection to tie down the Union Army in the Shanandoah Valley during the approach to Vicksburg early in the war; which even McClellan might've pursued if he had the troops guarding the valley. Scipio Africanus attacked Hannibal in Italy by crossing the Mediterranean to strike at Carthage itself. Guderian struck through the Ardennes after Germans attacked as exected through Belgium and France;achieving such success it even made Hitler nervous. MacArthur went against all the common wisdom and invdade Korea at Inchon; slashing through the overextended North Korean supply lines to cut off their frontline troops at the Pusan Perimeter.Napoleon in his early years specialized in another approach: maneuvering around to attack at the rear.Sherman followed another strategy in advancing from Atlanta; sending out several columns; each threatening more than one city; then struck unexpectedly at an undefended target.These and other strategies and how they have been used by military leaders from Genghis Khan to Mao to Rommel to Allenby are examined in this very interesting book and summarized in a helpful final chapter.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. How to Win WarsBy Eric GartmanGreat generals win by attacking the enemy's flank or rear; thereby distracting and dislocating the enemy from his supplies; communications; and undermining his confidence. Direct attacks merely consolidate an enemy's defenses and even if he is defeated merely forces him back on his reserves and supplies. That in a nutshell; is the argument presented by Bevin Alexander in his study of ten great generals; ranging from the ancient world to the modern day. Yet most military leaders have not followed these precepts. According to Alexander; these methods require imagination and cunnning; whereas society views deception suspiciously (Although Edward Luttwak suggests that the reason is that indirect methods require more supplies and effort). Using this analysis; Alexander not only shows us how great generals win; he also shows us that some generals thought of as great were in fact mediocre or poor. For example; Alexander claims that Sherman; not Grant won the Civil War. Grant used direct methods to attack Lee in 1864 and in one month lost 55;000 men; twice as many as Lee. With the meat of his army gone; his forces bogged down in front of Petersburg for nine months. Meanwhile; Sherman used speed and deception to win the war. In his campaign against Atlanta; he refused to launch frontal assaults on enemy entrenchments. Instead he went around their defense and continued to march on Attanta. This forced the enemy to attack him on his terms; and he inflicted great losses on them. He then cut the rail lines to the city. Atlanta was abandoned and Sherman marched across Georgia and the Carolinas; sapping the Southern will to fight. "The purpose of war is to diminish the possibility of resistance;" not necessarily to destroy the enemy's army through battle. Speed and mobility are the keys to this strategy. And the ten generals written about here used these techniques to win wars and change the course of history. Alexander would later build on the lessons he wrote about in this book and write his magnum opus; "How Wars are Won;" an even better study of military techniques.
