14 results for "Biography"

Patton: legendary commander

Blumenson, Martin
Shortly after World War II, when the Allies interrogated Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, the senior commander who opposed the Allied invasion of France, they asked him to rate the skills of his opponents. He is reputed to have said, "Patton, he was your best." Praise for his performance was precisely what George Smith Patton, Jr., had sought all his life. As a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and West Point, he was already searching for what he called "the undefinable difference" that distinguished a great general from the good ones. He led a mechanized attack in Mexico and a tank battalion during World War I. In World War II he turned American fortunes around in North Africa, chased the Germans out of Sicily, and sparked the breakout and liberation of France. When the Germans attacked the American First Army in the Battle of the Bulge, Patton turned his army north and smashed the German salient. He then drove into the heart of Germany and reached Czechoslovakia by war's end. Brilliant yet flawed, Patton's leadership style drove himself and his men to acts of bravery and victory. Half uncouth, provincial cowboy and half cultured sophisticate, the man behind the warrior mask was a complex and paradoxical person. He became an icon of the American military leader and the uncompromising individual.
Potomac Books 2008 117 pages

Warrior: the autobiography of Ariel Sharon

Sharon, Ariel
A hero in each of Israel's wars, perhaps the most daring and successful commander in Israel's extraordinary military history, Ariel Sharon has always been a warrior, whether the enemies were hostile Arab nations, terrorists, Time magazine, or rival politicians. The public man is well known—aggressive in battle, hard-line in politics—but the private man has always been obscured by Sharon's dazzling career and powerful personality. In this compelling and dramatic autobiography, the real Sharon appears for the first time: a man of complex depths and passions, a loving father, a man of courage and compassion.
Simon & Schuster 1990 571 pages

Arik: the life of Ariel Sharon

Landau, David
A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, and a politician whose tenure bridged numerous governments, as both a general and a politician Ariel Sharon championed the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. But in his later years, as prime minister, he took a dramatic turn, and became the driving force behind Israel’s unilateral disengagement. In this first truly comprehensive biography, David Landau, the former editor-in-chief of Haaretz, paints a vivid picture of the most dramatic and imposing Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years—and takes a penetrating look at how Sharon transformed his country like no one else.
Vintage Books 2014-11-11 688 pages

A time to lead: for duty, honor and country

Clark, Wesley K.
General Clark became a major figure on the political scene when he was drafted by popular demand to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2003. Here, General Clark uses his unique life experience--from his rough childhood in segregated Arkansas, through the horrors of Vietnam to the difficulties of negotiating peace and rebuilding national security after the Cold War--as a springboard to reveal his vision for America, at home and in the world, addressing the current state of our nation, the direction in which we are headed, and what we should hope to achieve.--From publisher description.
Palgrave Macmillan 2007 262 pages

Syrian notebooks

Littell, Jonathan
"In 2012, Jonathan Littell went to the heart of the Syrian conflict, embedding himself with the Free Syria-Army in the historic city of Homs. He watched from the front line as the city was ruthlessly pummeled by Assad's forces before it finally surrendered. His urgent notebooks of what he saw on the ground speak directly of the horrors of the civil war that continues today. Out of the chaos, Littell bears witness to the lives and the hopes of freedom fighters. Syrian Notebooks is the most close-up account of the war, and will be seen as a classic account of war reportage"--
Verso 2015-04-21 246 pages

Old Ironsides: the military biography of Oliver Cromwell

Kitson, Frank
Whether viewed as a brave crusader or a power-mad villain, Oliver Cromwell (1599--1658) is irrefutably a key figure in one of the most troubled periods of British history. By examining his performance as a military commander in the widest sense, this intriguing volume offers a new perspective on an intensely religious man who used both soldiering and politics to achieve his underlying goals, as well as insight into the world in which he lived. Whether viewed as a brave crusader or a power-mad villain, Oliver Cromwell (1599--1658) is irrefutably a key figure in one of the most troubled periods of British history. By examining his performance as a military commander in the widest sense, this intriguing volume offers a new perspective on an intensely religious man who used both soldiering and politics to achieve his underlying goals, as well as insight into the world in which he lived.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2004 239 pages