Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen And Leadership In WartimeSUPREME COMMAND is about leadership in wartime, or more precisely about the tension between two kinds of leadership, civil and military. Eliot Cohen uncovers the nature of strategy-making by looking at four great democratic war statesmen and seeing how they dealt with the military leaders who served them. In doing so he reveals fundamental aspects of leadership and provides not merely an historical analysis but a study of issues that remain crucial today. By examining the cases of four of the greatest war statesmen of the twentieth century he explores the problem of how people confront the greatest challenges that can befall them, in this case national leaders. Beginning with a discussion of civil-military relations from a theoretical point of view, Cohen lays out the conventional beliefs about how politicians should deal with generals and the extent to which either can influence the outcome of war. From these he draws broader lessons for students of leadership generally. |
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Review: Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
User Review - Brendan Mcbreen - GoodreadsA tremendously rich and balanced discussion on the benefits of civilian leadership over military forces. Cohen's Supreme Command should be read by both national leaders and military leaders. Read full review
SUPREME COMMAND: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime
User Review - KirkusStrategy analyst Cohen challenges the view that wars are best fought by military technicians without civilian interference.Those who maintain that Vietnam would have been an American victory if only ... Read full review
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Allied Arab arms Army Army’s attack battle Ben-Gurion Britain British campaign Carl von Clausewitz Chiefs of Staff Churchill Churchill’s Civil civil-military relations civilian control civilian leaders civilian leadership Clausewitz Clemenceau coalition commander in chief conduct Confederate conflict Dana David Ben-Gurion decision enemy example Ferdinand Foch fight Foch Foch’s France France’s French front George H. W. Bush German Grant Gulf Gulf war Gurion Haganah Halleck high command historians Huntington Ibid Iraqi Israel Israel Defense Forces Israeli Jerusalem Jewish John Keegan Joint Chiefs less Lincoln matters military advisers military leaders military’s Mordacq offensive officers organization Palestine Palmach Pétain politicians president prime minister problem professional remarked role secretary of defense senior soldiers Stanton statesmen strategy subordinates telegraph theory of civil-military Union United University Press victory Vietnam war’s warfare wartime Washington Winston Winston Churchill World World War II Yadin Yigal Alon yishuv York
Bibliographic information
| Title | Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen And Leadership In Wartime |
| Author | Eliot A. Cohen |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2012 |
| ISBN | 1471105148, 9781471105142 |
| Length | 352 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |