Ranger School, No Excuse Leadership [Paperback]

Brace E. Barber (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0967829208 | ISBN-13: 978-0967829203 | Publication Date: April 4, 1999 | Edition: 1st

Experience the FIRST book to illuminate the best leadership school in the U.S. Army - Ranger School. "Ranger School" puts you at ground level and drives home leadership principles through impactful first person anecdotes. Learn what ranger school is like. Feel the claustrophobia of the first night, the frustration of exhaustion and the pain of hunger. Perfect in-depth source for tab seekers. Graduates will be reunited with their own extraordinary experiences and determintation. Leaders don't make excuses!

Editorial Reviews

Review

A superb book for anyone about to begin an arduous training program. -- USMC Major General (Ret.)Ted Hopgood, Commandant, Corps of Cadets, Texas A & M University

Brace Barber has done a great job of capturing the essence of what Ranger School is all about. -- Major General Stewart W. Wallace, Former Commanding General, US Army Cadet Command

I would place it on the recommended reading list for those going to Ranger School... -- COL (Ret)Thomas H. Aldrich, Professor of Military Science, Norwich University

About the Author

Brace E. Barber graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in May 1987. At West Point he was already a leader and a writer. He was selected as both the Company Commander for his unit and the President of the School's Russian Club. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Armor Corps of the US Army. At the Armor Officer Basic Course he competed for and earned one of the scarce slots to Ranger School.

After over nine weeks of intense training, on January 28, 1988 Brace walked off the bus at Fort Benning, Georgia, a qualified ranger, 25 lbs. lighter than when he started. The traumatic and life changing experience of Ranger School gave him plenty of material for his pen and he went to work recording his experiences. (None of these are included in this book in deference to the great stories chosen and to avoid any appearance of self-aggrandisement like you are seeing here)

Brace was in a command position as soon as his boots hit the Korean soil where he lead the first of three combat arms platoons. An M-60 tank platoon just south of the Demilitarized Zone was where he first faced real responsibility for others. His path took him to Fort Lewis, Washington where his success as the leader of a Humm-V Scout Platoon prompted his Commander to offer him the coveted Squadron Airmobile Reconnaissance Platoon. These experiences gave him the chance to study leadership in depth and see the results of practical application. Brace read more than just Army manuals, he delved into the corporate philosophies of leadership such as those proposed by Tom Peters in "A Passion For Excellence" and personal relations like the ones in "How To Win Friends And Influence People" and personal growth from books in the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" genre. What resulted from his reading and his down-with-the-soldier style, through his extensive leadership experience, was a unique melding of military and civilian philosophies that work.

He progressed through the ranks to Captain before attending and finishing near the top of his Armor Officer Advanced Course. He then lead two Armor Companies, one at Fort Knox, Kentucky and one at Fort Carson, Colorado. As the head of an organization of nearly 100 people, Brace had to use all of the lessons learned from his previous commands and continue to develop new ways to motivate people and accomplish the mission. After ten exciting and successful years of active duty in the Army, Brace left the service to take his experiences to the corporate world as a professional writer and consultant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Patrol Leader Press; 1st edition (April 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967829208
• ISBN-13: 978-0967829203
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works For Me, September 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ranger School, No Excuse Leadership (Paperback)

This book was really eye-opening. Everyone should know just how fully dedicated our American servicemen (and women!) are. As someone who has not gone through Ranger School, but find it fascinating to read about {sure glad I never had to try and do it), .... First of all, I do agree that there are good reasons of American principle and character for Ranger School. And, second, as an Army football fan, I actually did get the book "West Point", by Norman Thomas Remick... when I was down there for a game. And, I agree, it does compliment "Ranger School, No Excuse Leadership" perfectly. It worked for me!

43 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ranger School, No Ex..." and "West Point", Perfect Together, September 27, 2001

By 

A. A. M. (New York, New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ranger School, No Excuse Leadership (Paperback)

This is a five-star account of experiences at Ranger School. I went through it years ago. There have been some changes. There is that old school-new school joshing around. I have no problem with that. It was gruelling then, and is gruelling now -- that's the bottom line. I only have a problem with people I run into all the time --- liberals --- who pooh-pooh and criticize the need for our training. Believe it or not, there are those out here. Their big comment is "Why should America be involved in anything that would require people with that training?" They just don't get it. They're looking for cerebral explanations. So, I tell them to read "West Point" by, Norman Thomas Remick, a book that gives all the cerebral, philosophical explanations for why our founding fathers decided America needed a permanent standing Army with military leaders trained to have character and leadership ingrained (hence, the title), the ultimate of which is Ranger School. That's the the only thing that makes them understand "Why Ranger School?". Now that increased terrorism is imminent, what are Americans to do -- grow beards, don the muslim headpieces, and all convert to Islam? The answer is NO! Tell them, we have Rangers defending our American principles. And get ready -- WE'RE COMING!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Insight, May 24, 2001

By 

"airborne_ranger33" (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ranger School, No Excuse Leadership (Paperback)

Finally, After years of trying to give fellow soldiers, family and friends an idea of what "Ranger School" is like and the personal hardships one must committ to, Brace Barber, puts it all into perspective. There are No "Wild Stories" here, just the vision of each soldier and their personal experiences put onto paper to the degree that feel that 'You are there'. Just reading this book, put me back into RIP, Pre-Ranger and "Hooah School". My wife read this book, gave me a hug and said "I finally understand". Thank you Brace, for letting my Family and Friends finally realize the "Truth" behind the Stories and to see what I could not explian.