Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in WartimeSimon and Schuster, 2012 M04 17 - 304 pages “An excellent, vividly written” (The Washington Post) account of leadership in wartime that explores how four great democratic statesmen—Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion—worked with the military leaders who served them during warfare. The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show—the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot A. Cohen expertly argues that great statesmen do not turn their wars over to their generals, and then stay out of their way. Great statesmen make better generals of their generals. They question and drive their military men, and at key times they overrule their advice. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture. Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion led four very different kinds of democracy, under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. They came from four very different backgrounds—backwoods lawyer, dueling French doctor, rogue aristocrat, and impoverished Jewish socialist. Yet they faced similar challenges. Each exhibited mastery of detail and fascination with technology. All four were great learners, who studied war as if it were their own profession, and in many ways mastered it as well as did their generals. All found themselves locked in conflict with military men. All four triumphed. The powerful lessons of this “brilliant” (National Review) book will touch and inspire anyone who faces intense adversity and is the perfect gift for history buffs of all backgrounds. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 73
Page xi
... leadership, civil and military. In it I have attempted to uncover the nature of strategy-making in war by looking at four great democratic war statesmen, and examining how they dealt with the military leaders who served them. My hope in ...
... leadership, civil and military. In it I have attempted to uncover the nature of strategy-making in war by looking at four great democratic war statesmen, and examining how they dealt with the military leaders who served them. My hope in ...
Page xii
Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime Eliot A. Cohen. partment there, to which I belonged, engaged senior military officers in a discussion of the fundamental issues discussed here through the study of the history of war from ...
Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime Eliot A. Cohen. partment there, to which I belonged, engaged senior military officers in a discussion of the fundamental issues discussed here through the study of the history of war from ...
Page xiii
... leaders. Edmund Wilson once observed about literary critics that "the ... military historians. The purpose of this book is not, however, to defend the ... leaders as a way of illuminating the perennial problem of civil-military relations ...
... leaders. Edmund Wilson once observed about literary critics that "the ... military historians. The purpose of this book is not, however, to defend the ... leaders as a way of illuminating the perennial problem of civil-military relations ...
Page 1
... leaders. Often they look for those with high-level experience in different settings: New York City's Columbia ... generals study business books, and the CEOs peruse military history. But in truth the details. THE SOLDIERAND THE STATESMAN.
... leaders. Often they look for those with high-level experience in different settings: New York City's Columbia ... generals study business books, and the CEOs peruse military history. But in truth the details. THE SOLDIERAND THE STATESMAN.
Page 2
Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime Eliot A. Cohen. the CEOs peruse military history. But in truth the details of their work differ so much that in practice the parallels often elude them, or can only be discovered by digging ...
Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime Eliot A. Cohen. the CEOs peruse military history. But in truth the details of their work differ so much that in practice the parallels often elude them, or can only be discovered by digging ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
CLEMENCEAU PAYS A VISIT | 52 |
CHURCHILL ASKS A QUESTION | 95 |
BENGURION HOLDS A SEMINAR | 133 |
LEADERSHIP WITHOUT GENIUS | 173 |
THE UNEQUAL DIALOGUE | 208 |
APPENDIX THE THEORY OF CIVILIAN CONTROL | 225 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 249 |
NOTES | 253 |
INDEX | 279 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Allied American Arab arms army attack battle Ben-Gurion Britain British campaign Carl von Clausewitz Chiefs of Staff Churchill Churchill's Civil civil-military relations civilian control civilian leaders Clausewitz Clemenceau coalition commander in chief conduct Confederate conflict Dana David Ben-Gurion decision defense enemy example fact Ferdinand Foch fight Foch Foch's France France's French front German Grant Gulf Gulf war Haganah Halleck high command historians Huntington Ibid important Iraqi Ismay Israel Israel Defense Forces Israeli Jerusalem Jewish Jews Joint Chiefs Joseph Hooker less Lincoln matters ment mili military advisers military leaders Mordacq offensive officers operations organization Palestine Palmach Petain politicians president prime minister problem professional remarked role secretary senior served soldiers Stanton statesmen strategy subordinates tary telegraph theory of civil-military tion Union United University Press USMA victory Vietnam wartime Winston Winston Churchill World World War II Yadin Yigal Alon yishuv York Zionist