Gods of War
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- R$ 59,90
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- R$ 59,90
Descrição da editora
Hannibal vs. Scipio. Grant vs. Lee. Rommel vs. Patton. The greatest battles, commanders, and rivalries of all time come to life in this engrossing guide to the geniuses of military history.
“A compelling study of military leadership.”—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Any meeting of genius may create sparks, but when military geniuses meet, their confrontations play out upon a vast panorama of states or civilizations at war, wielding the full destructive power of a mighty nation’s armies. Gods of War is the first single-volume, in-depth examination of the most celebrated military rivalries of all time, and of the rare, world-changing battles in which these great commanders in history matched themselves against true equals.
From Caesar and Pompey deciding the fate of the Roman Republic, to Grant and Lee battling for a year during the American Civil War, to Rommel and Montgomery and Patton meeting in battle after battle as Hitler strove for European domination, these match-ups and their corresponding strategies are among the most memorable in history.
A thrilling look into both the generals’ lives and their hardest-fought battles, Gods of War is also a thought-provoking analysis of the qualities that make a strong commander and a deep exploration of the historical context in which the contestants were required to wage war, all told with rousing narrative flair. And in a time when technology has made the potential costs of war even greater, it is a masterful look at how military strategy has evolved and what it will take for leaders to guide their nations to peace in the future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Military historians Lacey and Murray follow Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World with a stylish and intriguing survey of showdowns between "military geniuses" from the Second Punic War in 218 BCE to the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The authors' six case studies feature Hannibal vs. Scipio; Julius Caesar vs. Pompey; Richard I vs. Saladin; Napoleon Bonaparte vs. the Duke of Wellington; Ulysses S. Grant vs. Robert E. Lee; and George S. Patton and Bernard Montgomery vs. Edwin Rommel. In addition to examining the personalities and tactics of each commander, Lacey and Murray trace the historical evolution of combat, arguing that after the Industrial Revolution, wars could no longer be won with a single decisive battle, but became "a matter of assembling the greatest amount of resources and putting together an effective alliance system to overwhelm one's opponents." Their brisk recaps of the Battle of Arsuf in the Third Crusade, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and Grant's Overland Campaign in the Civil War, among other clashes, include colorful details and memorable quotations from the outsize personalities involved. Though the general vs. general structure has been used before, Lacey and Murray deliver a fresh take on the formula. Military history buffs will be enthralled.
