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.|Introduction: Pre-Heroic Leadership1. Alexander the Great and Heroic LeadershipAlexander: the Father of the ManThe AchievementThe Kingdom of MacedonThe Macedonian ArmyAlexander's StaffAlexander and his SoldiersCeremony and TheatreAlexander's OratoryAlexander on the BattlefieldAlexander and the Mask of Command2. Wellington: The Anti-HeroWellington the ManWellington and Western Military SocietyWellington's ArmyWellington's StaffWellington's RoutineWellington and the Presentation of SelfWellington in BattleObservation and Sensation3. Grant and Unheroic LeadershipGrant and the Progress of WarThe Professional Career of U.S. GrantGrant's ArmyGrant's StaffGrant on CampaignGrant the FighterGrant and American Democracy4. False Heroic: Hitler as Supreme CommanderWar and Hitler's WorldThe War Hitler MadeHitler's SoldiersHitler's HeadquartersHitler in CommandHitler and the Theatre of LeadershipConclusion: Post-Heroic: Command in the Nuclear WorldThe Imperative of KinshipThe Imperative of PrescriptionThe Imperative of SanctionThe Imperative of ActionThe Imperative of ExampleThe Validation of Nuclear AuthoritySelect BibliographyIndex|“The best military historian of our generation.” –Tom Clancy “A brilliant treatise on the essence of military leadership.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer “Fascinating and enlightening… marked by great intellectual liveliness… Mr. Keegan knows how to bring fighting alive on the page.” –The New York Times|Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan (1934–2012) was one of the most distinguished contemporary military historians and was for many years the senior lecturer at Sandhurst (the British Royal Military Academy) and the defense editor of the Daily Telegraph (London). Keegan was the author of numerous books including The Face of Battle The Mask of Command The Price of Admiralty Six Armies in Normandy and The Second World War and was a fellow at the Royal Society of Literature.|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.