´This is a stimulating collection of essays - pithily written and persuasively argued - that fills a gap in the important study of "those who make someone else’s victory possible".´ - Saul David, The Times
´The editors argue that much can also be learned from exploring the faults and disastrous decisions of those who have let down their forces and their countries . . . what the contributors do is help identify the tendencies that mark out poor leaders: reluctance to heed advice; carelessness with the lives of troops; a yearning for personal glory; lack of imagination; and the belief in one´s own capabilities while playing down those of enemies.´ - Sir Lawrence Freedman, International Affairs
For this book, fifteen distinguished historians were given a deceptively simple task: identify their choice for the worst military leader in history, and then explain why theirs is the worst.
From the clueless Conrad von Hötzendorf and George A. Custer, to the criminal Baron Roman F. von Ungern-Sternberg and the bungling Garnet Wolseley, this book presents a rogues´ gallery of military incompetents. Rather than merely rehashing biographical details, the contributors take an original and unconventional look at military leadership in a way that will appeal to both specialists and general readers alike.
While there are plenty of books that analyse the keys to success, The Worst Military Leaders in History offers lessons of failure to avoid. In other words, this book is a ´how-not-to´ guide to leadership.