audiobook Masters of Command: Alexander; Hannibal; Caesar; and the Genius of Leadership by Barry Strauss in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Pure knowledge and strategy!By AbbaStrategy; strategy and more strategy! That is what this book is all about.What can be more important than knowing the qualities of those three commanders; I will not call them great for they were all killing machines; knowing what distinguished them; what was so unique about their leadership styles; how they lead men in the most difficult times and in foreign lands and how they won victories over enemies that outnumbered them in every aspect.The author style is magnificent; in literature; narration; and knowledge to be gained; his style is unique as he jumps in a delicate sequence from one to the other; he acknowledges that war has five stages and develops the book around that by expanding; comparing and showing where each one of the three failed and/ or succeeded. Following each chapter and topic there is a prologue with examples of full and detailed battles with full demonstration of the tactics surrounding them; from the leader’s decision making process; positioning the army; choosing the terrain; etc.…This is an invaluable book; intensively rich with numerous lessons to be learned and knowledge to be acquired!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Compelling History With Lessons For TodayBy CharlesThis is a great introduction to three of the most important historical figures of the Classical Age. Since lack of historical knowledge is a plague upon the land in these latter days; Strauss does us a great service by providing a popular; concise history of these men. He compounds this service by drawing parallels and contrasts among them; making it easier to understand and remember each; and caps his effort by drawing permanent; generally applicable lessons from the lives of each.Strauss’s focus is; of course; on the military aspects of each of Alexander; Hannibal and Caesar; though he does touch on their political abilities as well. The campaigns of each are viewed through five stages: Attack; Resistance; Clash; Closing The Net; and Knowing When To Stop. Coupled with this are ten qualities of successful commanders: ambition; judgment; leadership; audacity; agility; infrastructure; strategy; terror; branding; and divine providence. The structure of the book is to; in essence; rate the performance of each of the three protagonists; in each stage; on each quality. Then; ultimately; Strauss gives a #1 ranking to the Most Successful Commander. (No; I won’t spoil it by saying who that is!)This is not an executive leadership book; of course. Strauss does not generally try to suggest that you should try this at home (particularly “terror”). But the qualities he analyzes are certainly frequently applicable to other life contexts; and therefore the book works both as history and; to a limited extent; as guidance for one’s own life; if one has the ambition to command and succeed.Strauss manages to cover a wide range of important events; mostly battles; without seeming cursory. The Granicus River. Gaugamela. Cannae. Zama. Thapsus. Pharsalus. It’s quite an accomplishment; if you stop and think about it; given that most of these events could rate a short book of their own. And Strauss manages to coherently weave each of them into the overall narrative; while writing about each of them compellingly. Somehow he manages to add enough anecdotes; written in vivid language; to bring each event alive; without drifting into history by anecdote. It’s a pretty impressive accomplishment.Many of the lessons Strauss draws out; though well drawn out; are common sense. But many are not. One of his big focuses is “closing the net;” where he emphasizes the need to follow-up on victories; along with the difficulties in doing so. “A victor’s biggest mistake after winning a great battle is to expect success to fall into his lap. On the contrary; since necessity is the mother of invention; the vanquished are likely to be more ingenious than ever; and perhaps even more dangerous.” This is useful to remember.None of this is idol-worship. Strauss criticizes his protagonists as much as he recognizes their accomplishments. And he notes the overriding vice of successfully military men—that though “No one every understood better than these three that war is politics. . . . then; at the moment of triumph; no one ever forgot the rule that war is politics as completely—or as disastrously—as they. Flush with victory and drunk with success; each man did the one thing that no successful general can ever dare do: he succumbed to his own vanity. Modern generals are not immune to excessive pride. But; in democracies at any rate; laws prevent any one individual from doing too much damage. History tells a cautionary tale.”And that’s the real value of this book. It informs us today; both in what to do; and in what not to do. Great history transmits universal principles; and the more people read books like this; the better off our society will be.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. starts out enjoyable; percise; and brisk; but ends up plodding along at the endBy derrickThis is a very interesting read. The author is taking on the dual challenge of presenting three very familiar historical characters in a fresh way and detailing what he believes to be the five universal stages that take place in all great conflicts and are mastered by all great leaders. The three leaders are Alexander the Great; Hannibal of Carthage; and Julius Caesar. The author follows their military careers as they embark on campaigns that; although separated by at least a century each; all pass through the same five stages. The stages are: attack (in which the campaign is launched and the commander gets his first swift victory); resistance (in which the enemy; now expecting you; attempts to push you back); clash (in which you meet the enemy's full force with your full force); closing the net (in which you crush what is left of the enemy); and knowing when to stop (in which you decide that you have accomplished your objectives and end the campaign).The narration through the first three of these stages is first-rate. The details are delivered briskly and are explained thoroughly. The reader gets a good understanding of the course of the campaigns and good details about the early and major victories that each commander experienced.But after that; the last two chapters of the book feel like they are just plodding along. After explaining each commander's major victory; it is like the author just ran out of steam. He dutifully records the rest of the engagements that the commanders battled in; tells of their successes; failures; and sidetracks; but the detail that he infused into the first half of the book is gone. The book that started out as such a treat ends up being something less than great.I am glad I read the book. I especially walk away with a better understanding of Hannibal. And the author's analysis at the end of the book is very good. If you a history buff; you will like the book. It's worth the read. But don't say I didn't warn you about the second half.