Product Description

Mark Urban tells the story of ten exceptional soldiers who left their mark on Britain and the world. Some - including Wellington, Kitchener and Montgomery - are names etched in the national mythology. Others are more obscure figures, whose achievements or failures may have had consequences quite different to those they had intended. All ten of these generals revealed either a brilliant ability or a fatal flaw. Success or failure depended largely on their ability to work within Britain's Parliamentary democracy - and against tyrants, despots and emperors who were often free to act alone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87800 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"'Generals succeeds because of the quirkiness of Urban's subjects, the quality of his writing and the originality of his conclusions.' Daily Telegraph"

Saul David, Daily Telegraph
Generals succeeds because of the quirkiness of Urban's subjects, the quality of his writing and the originality of his conclusions.

Allan Mallinson, Literary Review
One of the most intelligent books on the British Army I have ever read.

Customer Reviews

Captivating
In 'Generals' Mark Urban describes in his typically lucid, easy-to-read style the lives of 'ten British commanders who shaped the world' (which is the subtitle of the book). For your information, these ten men are:
- George Monck (1608-1670)
- John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722)
- William Howe (1729-1814)
- Prince Frederick, Duke of York (1763-1827)
- Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)
- Charles George Gordon (1833-1885)
- Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916)
- Edmund Allenby (1861-1936)
- JFC Fuller (1878-1966)
- Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1975)

Now any selection is of course to some degree arbitrary (and Urban freely admits so himself in his introduction), and although one might question whether all of these men really 'shaped the world' it still is undoubtedly a formidable collection, and Urban does each of these men justice in their respective chapters.

Don't expect full-blown biographies (each general gets a chapter of about 30 to 40 pages) but rather short but very incisive descriptions of each of these men's characters, and their unique contribution to British (or in some cases indeed world) history. All in all I found this a very entertaining and illuminating book, with a fresh outlook on each of these men (not all of whom were military geniuses either, some were fatally flawed). It definitely freshened my appetite to read more!

An interesting and comprehensive book
Mark Urban, an ex-British Army officer, writes an interesting book about 10 generals right from the start of the history of the British Army up to the Second World War. He talks about the personalities of the officers and their motivations, as well as their developement and influence. It is also good to see him cover the careers of the famous generals from before they were famous - and after they were famous. In several cases he covers the careers of individuals who acted poorly in their early years before turning themselves around (or reaching a rank to which they were suited) later on. There are also those who peak early in their careers and go from excellent battalion commanders to mediocre generals!
In all an absorbing read that fills in some of the gaps in the common knowledge of some Britain's more famous military sons.

INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL/MILITARY RELATIONSHIPS
Mark Urban's Generals is currently one of my best reads of 2008. It is well written, in simple English, therefore making it an easy read. His selection of Generals are excellent and his analysis of their impact certainly deepened my knowledge of how the British Army has developed over the centuries.

Finally, I find his comments about the relationship between the top of the British Army i.e. CGS and his interaction with the Politicians very good in understanding why our current CGS's act the way they do...they are the umbrella that allows more tactical gifted officers to operate without interference from the Politician who in the current era do not understand what it means to sacrifice one's life for Queen and Country.

A highly recommend book!