The Savior GeneralsVictor Davis HansonLabel: Bloomsbury PressDescription: Stirring portraits of five commanders whose dynamic leadership changed the course of war and history by prominent military historian Victor Davis Hanson.Victor Davis Hanson has written another outstanding and eye-opening book--The Washington ExaminerProminent military historian Victor Davis Hanson explores the nature of leadership with his usual depth and vivid prose in The Savior Generals a set of brilliantly executed pocket biographies of five generals (Themistocles Belisarius William Tecumseh Sherman Matthew Ridgway and David Petraeus) who single-handedly saved their nations from defeat in war. War is rarely a predictable enterprise—it is a mess of luck chance and incalculable variables. Today’s sure winner can easily become tomorrow’s doomed loser. Sudden sharp changes in fortune can reverse the course of war.These intractable circumstances are sometimes mastered by leaders of genius—asked at the eleventh hour to save a hopeless conflict one created by others and frequently unpopular politically and with the public. The savior generals often come from outside the established power structure employ radical strategies and flame out quickly. Their careers regularly end in controversy. But their dramatic feats of leadership are vital slices of history—not merely as stirring military narrative but as lessons on the dynamic nature of consensus leadership and destiny.
