The Mask of Command

John Keegan's brilliant look at the meaning of leadership

In The Mask of Command, John Keegan asks us to consider questions that are seldom asked: What is the definition of leadership? What makes a great military leader? Why is it that men, indeed sometimes entire nations, follow a single leader, often to victory, but with equal dedication also to defeat?

Dozens of names come to mind...Napoleon, Lee, Charlemagne, Hannibal, Castro, Hussein. From a wide array, Keegan chooses four commanders who profoundly influenced the course of history: Alexander the Great, the Duke of Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant and Adolph Hitler. All powerful leaders, each cast in a different mold, each with diverse results.

The Mask of Command is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Face of Battle together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 10/04/1988
ISBN: 9780140114065
Pages: 368
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.10w x 0.90d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 08/19/1988