They are the unforgettable leaders who inspired their troops, the tacticians who devised the wiliest strategies, the military mavericks who won the wars. Although more than 2000 years separate Alexander the Great from Giap, the single-minded commander of the North Vietnamese forces that defeated the U.S., each of these outstanding characters has something to teach us about military history. They include Shaka Zulu, Stonewall Jackson, Garibaldi, Lawrence of Arabia, and Patton--12 in all.
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Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
This collection of 12 military biographies ranges from the predictable to the perverse. In assembling a pantheon of unorthodox military personalities from a period extending over 2,000 years, Rooney acknowledges the difficulty of offering any final definition of a maverickbut he proceeds to devise one anyway, arguing that the true military maverick combines a fixated dedication to his cause with an heroic ability to lead troops into battle. The maverick is often the heir of a familial martial tradition. He demonstrates calmness under fire, and he understands the significance of such mundane issues as logistics, organization, and communication. One is somewhat pained, however, to see how these qualities can encompass such diverse characters as Macedonian warlord Alexander the Great, Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny, and Vietnamese patriot Vo Nguyen Giap. One idea that emerges in all of Rooneys biographies is that the maverick tends to be an honorable warrior who defies the marshal orthodoxies of his time. While this is a standard topic in studies of this kind, Rooneys analysis ignores his themes ethical dimensions. For example, Nazi general Heinz Guderian is lauded for steadfast dedication to his men in the face of Russian counteroffensives and for defying Hitlers feverish demands never to surrender. When his colleagues later joined in plots to assassinate the dictator, however, Guderian refused to participate on the grounds that it would violate his oath of loyalty. Rooney praises Guderian for pursuing his career, without once compromising his honour or his loyalty to his ideals. It would seem that his moral imagination is as limited as his subjects conscience. Rooneys selective historical and moral judgments diminish what might have been an interesting summary of military leadership to a disturbing rehearsal of hero worship.-- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
David Rooney saw war service in India and West Africa as a Captain in the Queen's Royal Regiment. After the war he read history at Keble College, Oxford, and went on to a teaching career in Belfast, Germany and England, including four years as a Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst. He is a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and continues to lecture and write.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not very well done,
By "jpn607" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men Of Battle (Hardcover)
I'll concur with the other reviews here. The book is short on scholarship and is really a precis of the work of others. Little in the way of references, and one suspects, original research. No significant conclusions, no real surprises, and a very straight-forward retelling of well-known biographies. The author should probably have chosen lesser well known subjects, and done more primary research with extensive footnotes. Even if one argues this is simply intended as "light reading", it's all been said before.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Lacking Compilation,
By
This review is from: Cassell Military Classics: Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men of Battle (Paperback)
Rather than provide a thorough study of any one military maverick, Rooney, in this uninspiring compilation, attempts to introduce the already well-known facts and idiosyncrasies of certain well-known military commanders.
The book is divided into twelve chapters, each discussing one notable individual. Each chapter provides a brief (generally too brief) bio of the man, a short history of the conflicts in which he gained fame, a quick allusion to certain eccentricities, and finally a short prologue. I found the book lacking historical insight, as well as a readable style, which leaves the work at times slow and monotonous. Rooney's book perhaps would have been better recieved had he shortened the number of characters from twelve to six and expanded the chapters to create a more full description of the individuals. Although the author attempts to render a history of martial nonconformists from Alexander to Guderain, each brief biography lacks any real meat, or surprising new information. All too often Military Mavericks leaves the reader wondering just how much time Rooney spent on his work.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Third Rate,
This review is from: Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men of Battle (Hardcover)
This book fails in some many ways. While it could very easily be a good general introduction for those only slightly familiar with the personalities named, it presents them in such a humdrum way it cannot be said to do even that. A person who is not already familiar with many of the exploits of Lawrence of Arabia or Patton would leave still ignorant of them. The author drops the names of numerous personalities having nothing to do with the specific subject matter at hand as a means of comparison. Here or there this could be helpful but it is overdone to the point where it becomes annoying and one gets the feeling they are only being mentioned as a ploy to gain some academic credentials. Also, the habit of referencing these people only by their last names (first ones are never mentioned) is especially hard on the nerves.
The chapter on Giap - in particular the part having to due with Vietnam - is especially poor and cannot accurately be called historical nonfiction. I shows a knowledge of the conflict which is more than bordering on ignorance. It reads often like a communist propaganda piece, ignoring Giap's actual skills and tactics and relying more on flowery expressions and the same tired BS about stoned-out American drafties loosing the war. Finally, the book makes an atrocious number of outright errors. The author is associated with Cambridge - one of the educational pillars of Western Civilization - and this book would earn an F as a middle school history paper. These errors range from the obscure to the mild (claiming the object of Operation Mincemeat was a fake invasion of Sardinia... it was really a fake invasion of Greece) to the jaw-droopingly brain-dead (The date for the Hiroshima bombing is incorrect and the author states that Nixon defeated LBJ in the 1968 election. No, really. He says that). All in all a beyond sloppy piece of work which must have been put together overnight to make some beer money. The author shows a clear mixture of ignorance and bias. In the hands of readers familiar with the subjects it makes for a good chuckle to see how low it gets. In the hands of the new student of military history it is plain dangerous.
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