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Great Commanders of the Modern World, 1866-Present Day
Great Commanders of the Modern World is a sumptuous chronological survey of the 25 greatest commanders of the modern world. Compiled by an distinguished team of historians (including such names as Antonia Fraser, Saul David and Stephen Brumwell) working under the general editorship of Andrew Roberts, Great Commanders of the Modern World is an authoritative and beautifully illustrated account of the lives and careers of the 25 greatest military commanders of the period. Every commander is profiled in a concise and informative 3000-word article which not only brings its subject vividly to life via a lively, fact-driven narrative, but also analyses and assesses his tactical and strategic gifts.
As accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, Great Commanders of the Modern World is the perfect introduction to its subject for the layperson - but also a stimulating and thought-provoking read for those with greater knowledge of military history. With its companion volumes, focusing on the great commanders of the ancient, medieval and early modern eras, it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals the world has seen.
As accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, Great Commanders of the Modern World is the perfect introduction to its subject for the layperson - but also a stimulating and thought-provoking read for those with greater knowledge of military history. With its companion volumes, focusing on the great commanders of the ancient, medieval and early modern eras, it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals the world has seen.
409 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
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About the author
Andrew Roberts
79 books1,518 followersDr Andrew Roberts, who was born in 1963, took a first class honours degree in Modern History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, from where he is an honorary senior scholar and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). He has written or edited twelve books, and appears regularly on radio and television around the world. Based in New York, he is an accomplished public speaker, and is represented by HarperCollins Speakers’ Bureau (See Speaking Engagements and Speaking Testimonials). He has recently lectured at Yale, Princeton and Stanford Universities and at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 1, 2021
Meer een verzameling uittreksels van diverse auteurs als een naslagwerk. Voor de ervaren lezer is dit het continue net niet. Verder komt vaak de persoonlijke voorkeur van de auteur nogal nadrukkelijk tot uiting zonder dat dit onderbouwd wordt.
July 28, 2018
It's a potpourri of history. The problem with such books is that they just give you some cursory details and summaries one chapter on a average of 20 pages. legends like General Patton and Erwin Rommel can not be written in 20 pages.
The good things about the book is that it contains the history of many great commanders and it can aspire you read more about those individuals individually.
The good things about the book is that it contains the history of many great commanders and it can aspire you read more about those individuals individually.
February 25, 2020
I LOVE SOLIDERS MY FATHER WAS A TRUE SOLDIER. I GOT A LOT OF SOLIDER IN ME. TO ALL THE SOLDIERS WHO SERVED. THANKS.
October 8, 2020
Not a very in-depth review of the men. I’d say this is a brief biography of each along with a very brief resume of each commander. A few didn’t even belong on the list.
June 16, 2025
In introducing this final volume in the series, Andrew Roberts notes that, "An intriguing feature of all four volumes has been how widely the distribution of military genius is spread, both chronologically and geographically. I was surprised that our list contained quite so many non-Europeans, since Europe has been the principal crucible of global warfare for the last half millennium or so. It was not out of political correctness that warriors such as Shaka Zulu, Tomoyaki Yamashita and Vo Nguyen Giap forced themselves into these pages, but because great military attributes seem to know no racial or geographical boundaries...This volume, of course, concentrates on the generals of the two cataclysmic global conflicts that so scarred the twentieth century, and features no fewer than four German generals of the Second World War. This serves to remind us how fortunate we are that, despite the generally higher quality of the Wehrmacht in comparison with the Allied generals in the Second World War, the Führer himself was a strategic dunderhead who nonetheless reckoned himself the greatest warlord who ever lived."
He also offers some thoughts on the attributes that these men hold in common: "So what are the attributes that distinguish history's greatest commanders? 'The power to command has never meant the power to remain mysterious,' wrote one of them, Marshal Foch, in his 1919 work Precepts and Judgments. The qualities are not secret but openly on display and have been remarkably unchanging over the centuries, and thus capable of analysis in this book. For all the revolutions in technology, the coming and departing of the Age of Gunpowder, the advent of the machine-gun and the rise of air power, the characteristics have remained astonishingly ageless. Heinz Guderian would have recognised the audacity of Joshua; Dwight Eisenhower would have admired the sheer, overawing puissance of Cyrus; Robert E. Lee would have applauded the attention to detail of Wellington, or for that matter, the tactical aptitude of Alexander." Liddell Hart wrote, "The two qualities of mental initiative and strong personality, or determination, go a long way towards the power of command in war - they are, indeed, the hallmark of the Great Captains." To these, Andrew Roberts adds "a feel for the coup d'oeil, an aptitude for observation, the ability to create surprise, a facility for public relations, the gift of interlocking strategy with tactics and vice versa, a faculty for predicting an opponents likely behaviour, and as General Patton wrote in October 1944, a capacity for 'telling somebody who thinks he is beaten that he is not beaten.'" No general of the last 50 years has been included, as generalship has tended to become a more managerial and technological concept in recent decades, though Roberts does acknowledge that Schwarzkopf or Petraeus may force themselves into a future revision of this set."
Like previous volumes in the series, this one is a mixed bag, but the chapters on Foch, Mannerheim, and Templar were excellent. This is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in military history, and is sure to spark further interest and reading on some of the commanders who are summarised.
My detailed summary of the book is available here
He also offers some thoughts on the attributes that these men hold in common: "So what are the attributes that distinguish history's greatest commanders? 'The power to command has never meant the power to remain mysterious,' wrote one of them, Marshal Foch, in his 1919 work Precepts and Judgments. The qualities are not secret but openly on display and have been remarkably unchanging over the centuries, and thus capable of analysis in this book. For all the revolutions in technology, the coming and departing of the Age of Gunpowder, the advent of the machine-gun and the rise of air power, the characteristics have remained astonishingly ageless. Heinz Guderian would have recognised the audacity of Joshua; Dwight Eisenhower would have admired the sheer, overawing puissance of Cyrus; Robert E. Lee would have applauded the attention to detail of Wellington, or for that matter, the tactical aptitude of Alexander." Liddell Hart wrote, "The two qualities of mental initiative and strong personality, or determination, go a long way towards the power of command in war - they are, indeed, the hallmark of the Great Captains." To these, Andrew Roberts adds "a feel for the coup d'oeil, an aptitude for observation, the ability to create surprise, a facility for public relations, the gift of interlocking strategy with tactics and vice versa, a faculty for predicting an opponents likely behaviour, and as General Patton wrote in October 1944, a capacity for 'telling somebody who thinks he is beaten that he is not beaten.'" No general of the last 50 years has been included, as generalship has tended to become a more managerial and technological concept in recent decades, though Roberts does acknowledge that Schwarzkopf or Petraeus may force themselves into a future revision of this set."
Like previous volumes in the series, this one is a mixed bag, but the chapters on Foch, Mannerheim, and Templar were excellent. This is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in military history, and is sure to spark further interest and reading on some of the commanders who are summarised.
My detailed summary of the book is available here
December 17, 2013
Interesting selection with some inspired choices - Baron Mannerheim, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, General Slim - but feel should have also included Alanbrooke, Kesselring, and maybe Franchet D'Esperey. Also comprises all soldiers - Yamamota and Togo could have represented the maritime element
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews