Customer Reviews

The Military Quotation Book, Revised and Expanded: More than 1,200 of the Best Quotations About War, Leadership, Courage, Victory, and Defeat

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

When you need quotations on war, leadership, victory and defeat, beyond the standards offered on the internet (i.e., Winston Churchill, Mao, Patton), this is an excellent resource. Hundreds of quotes on topics that apply to life's traumas and dramas as much as the military. Includes philosophers and strategists like Sun Tsu, Andrew Carnegie, Ghandi, Themistocles and more. Here are a few examples--you judge:

I tell you, Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad soldiers; we will settle the matter by lunch time. (Bonaparte the morning of the Battle of Waterloo)

They were never defeated; they were only killed (the French Foreign Legion)

Elevate those guns a little lower (Andrew Jackson)

There never is a convenient place to fight a war when the other man starts it (Admiral Arleigh Burke)

It includes many categories (fear, originality of war, nuclear war, etc) as well as an index to organize quotees. If you're an action/thriller writer, this should be in your library.

I had just finished reading "The Executive's Quotation Book" by this same editor when I realized I had this other book of quotations ,also by him.I had rated it 3*,so I thought I should compare it with this one on Military Quotations.I found this one better,but still not a 5* book.
In the Introduction,the editor makes several points about the quotations chosen.The most significant point being that the reader will not always agree with all of the quotations.The editor has chosen a wide variety of quotes covering wildely different perspectives,all the way from pacifists to infamous warmongers.Some are from ancient times,some from the Bible,some from recent times,some from military leaders,some from politicis,as well as many other parts of society.One of the things he often does is pick quotes that are of opposing ideas,such as;
"If a country is worth living in,it is worth fighting for." ..Manning Coles
and
"War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys
the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today."..JFK

Then,there are those quotations that have proven to be unbelievably wrong,such as;
"I tell you Wellington is a bad general,the English are bad soldiers;we will
settle the matter by lunch time." ..Napoleon Bonaparte,the morning of the
Battle of Waterloo.

Then there are are quotes that apply as much today as anytime in the
past,such as;
"A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails,and then asks you
not to kill him." ..Winston Churchill

The reason I did not give this book 5*'s is that ,even though there are many excellent quotes,the reader will not be familiar with many of the people quoted,and the editor did not include anything about the person or the context of the quote.Also,while there is a copious amount of excellent illustrations,the editor does not give any reference to their origin or significence.

Sent this PB to my son in Iraq. He enjoyed it. An easy, but interesting read.

Not much to add. Great book, great seller, perfect condition, arrived within a couple of days.