The inside story of the small group of soldier-scholars who changed the way the Pentagon does business and the American military fights wars, against fierce resistance from within their own ranks

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.

Buller's Campaign is a powerful and invaluable reassessment of the life of General Buller and of the part he played in British military history. Beginning with his struggle for the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Army in 1895, it goes on to portray his role in the Boer War, and on its path, reveals many of the Victorian Imperialist attitudes of the day. A man of numerous failures, General Buller has been treated unkindly by history but Symons here seeks to paint a more rounded picture. Whilst never attempting to excuse the General's mistakes, he portrays Buller as a complex and often misunderstood character and reveals the deep ironies that surrounded so much of what he achieved. This is an exceptional book and an outstanding contribution to military history.

Autobiography of a retired army officer from West Bengal, India.

Drawn largely from unpublished manuscripts, this compilation illustrates Norbert Elias' theory that the emergence of the professional naval officer in Great Britain was related both to the necessities of naval warfare and to the structure of society on land. Specifically, the innovation of the rank of midshipman meant that the British were able to mitigate the impact of social barriers between officers and ratings and gradually merge the two hierarchies.