Maverick Military Leaders: The Extraordinary Battles of Washington, Nelson, Patton, Rommel, and Others

by Robert Harvey

From the high seas at Trafalgar to the dusty battlefields of Sinai, the course of history has been changed by military mavericks who lead from the front. In the current age of backroom generals who command from far behind the front lines, it is often forgotten that wars have been won or lost by the personality and leadership of a maverick commander. Here for the first time together are the stories of the military careers of Ariel Sharon, Simon Bolivar, Robert E. Lee, Henri Gouraud, Douglas MacArthur, Horatio Nelson, Georgy Zhukov, William Slim, and many more. In sixteen riveting portraits, bestselling historian Robert Harvey ( The War of Wars ) explores how these lone leaders came to power, and how their unique leadership styles affected the extraordinary events of Stalingrad, Chancellorsville, Austerlitz, Messina, Junín, Yorktown, Inchon, Plassey, Imphal, Sinai, and Salamanca, among others. Explore Napoleon’s reputation as an aggressive tactician, Bolivar’s talent for flamboyant improvisation, and George Washington’s careful and calculated patience. Discover the history behind the nicknames of “Old Blood and Guts” (Patton) and “the Desert Fox” (Rommel). Maverick Military Leaders is a definitive, one-volume account of some of history’s most important and surprising battles and the commanders who won the field.

Genres: Biography, History

432 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jamie Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it for school. It was far more I interesting than I expected. 4 stars.

[Michael Eklund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read, especially the chapters about the more unknown leaders (Clive, Wolfe, Cochrane, Garibaldi ... ). Some maps, but to few. It could have been some pictures and illustrations about the persons and events.
Some strange views from the author, but most irritating some historical facts he gets wrong. And some misspellings of generals, like D’Erlon as D'Erlan.

Not bad, rather a nice read, but not 100% trustworthy. A give it four stars for the read, otherwise it should be a three star.

[Boyke Rahardian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even before read this book I already familiar with all the Mavericks depicted here except for Admiral Thomas Cochrane. How did I miss such a giant? His many exploits, adventures and victories during Napoleonic War eclipsed only by those of Nelson’s. Even in his ‘retirement’ he continued helping Brazil, Peru and Chile gained independence from Portugal and Spain.

Only later I found out the book / movies ‘Master and Commander’ is based on his biography. No wonder, his adventures are almost custom-made for action movies.