The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost - From Ancient Greece to Iraq

This is a great book and really fun to read. as it's based on 5 different individuals and over a period of over 2000 years, it covers a lot of ground in short but very informative 45-50 pages sections. You can pick and chouse which General you want to read about first, second etc as they are each their own individual histories but VDH does link aspects of each of them to one another. If you've never read VDH before, this book is a great introduction and if you are already a fan, you will once again enjoy Victor's clear and well researched writing. The book is well bound, the lettering is good sized and easy to read and the content is very enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who wants an insight into why some can succeed where most would likely fail and the type of mind and composure that allows for that.

I learned a lot from this book. In particular Matthew Ridgway and David Petraeus. With each of the five generals Hanson gives you the background of the general before their famous battle or campaign, then the events surrounding the battle or campaign and then what happened to these generals after their famous action. He keeps it tight and pithy but still gives you a lot of information surrounding five really interesting characters. For me the most knowledge gaining read was about Ridgway. I know almost nothing about the Korean war and those times and so that was really an interesting read for me. He covered the politics of the early 50's, how the US almost got thrown out of Korea and how this character, Ridgway, who was at a cocktail party in D.C. got tagged and overnight landed up in Korea as the key field commander their having to deal with an army that was in full retreat. Yet in 90 days he turned it around and replaced MacArthur in Japan. I had no idea how bad the situation was. My only understanding was that no one likes to talk about the Korean war. Petraeus was an interesting read for me as well because although I was certainly living through that time (2007 - 2008) I did not know much about the general and of course current politics blurred actual events. No matter how you feel about the war in Iraq this is an informational read about how we got there and what the Surge was all about. Hanson's write up on all five generals was really done very well. You did not get lost in the pages. He kept it crisp and concise and very interesting to read. You will learn a lot and that is always a good thing. There is not moralizing in the book, no politics. Just the players, how they developed, how the battles developed and what happened to them afterwards. Great read.

History is unkind to "outliers. Lincoln might not have fared well if he lived. The leaders in this book saved civilizations only to be "exiled" after completing their assignments. You find parallels in both church and government.

Prof. Hanson’s writing style was so enjoyable in this book. It flowed and was a pleasure for the reader. As usual, his depth and breath of knowledge of history was amazing. But the book really shined in Prof. Hanson’s analysis of the person and the circumstances of their success. My only regret is that I did not have the opportunity to be a student in one of his classes.

To be a Savior General one must take a lost war and win it. Or a nearly lost or trending lost war if not totally lost. He goes all the way back to Greece to start us off. In each case, the general in question essentially grabs the situation by the ears and turns it clear around. Beaten and helpless on land in the war with Persia Themistocles convinces the Athenians to evacuate their city and make their stand at sea. No one else could conceivably make the argument. This not only ended up defeating the Persians but literally saving Western Civilization. And so it goes through history, even up to the current 21st Century era. Hands-on writes with accessible eloquence. He is a pleasure to read simply for his facility with the English language. And he has points and insights that are unique to him, thought-provoking and fascinating. Highly recommended brain food.

Victor Hanson writes about military generals who stepped up to "save the day" when all appeared lost. The book is solidly researched but he lacks the storytelling mastery of Rick Atkinson (The Guns at Last Light). Hanson tells five stories from 480 BC to present day. The first stories, about Thermistocles and Belisarius, are hard to follow simply because the various names(cities, regions, countries, rulers, etc.) of the time are not readily familiar. Illustrations and maps would have been helpful. The middle story about Civil War general William Sherman is not bad. But the stories about Matthew Ridgway and David Petraeus connect immediately and alone worth the price of the book. How General Matthew Ridgway turned the Korean Conflict around has been unfortunately lost in studies about leadership and military strategy. Hanson captures the man, the dire situation, and difficult circumstances that Ridgway had to navigate. Likewise, Hanson brings out the difficult political scene General Patraeus faced during the surge that finally broke Al Qaeda's back in 2007. There are sections of the book that politicians such as Joe Biden and John Kerry would just as soon we forget. A little like the Korean Conflict, the positive ending to the Iraq War was overshadowed by the US political campaign in 2008 and Patraeus never quite reaches the pinnacle one might have expected for such a stunning accomplishment. My main criticism of the book is that it isn't as exciting as it should be because Hanson tends to skip around among pre-battle, battle, and post-battle information. He never builds the stories to crescendos (where finishing each with an epilogue would have been terrific). Each savior general falls from grace in some manner following their particular moment of glory. I was disappointed in the one epilogue he did provide. He could have discussed common points about how generals were ready when called, what qualities they possessed to reverse the dire situations they faced, and how each dealt with fame and glory after victory. He tries to provide some common characteristics possessed by savior generals but is not convincing in connecting these ideas back to the stories in meaningful ways.

VDH is a controversial conservative writer and thought leader. Not all of his books are great but this one is.

A wonderful, inciteful analysis of five generals who changed the course of history, then largely disappeared from it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which profiles five generals throughout history who were called to lead when defeat seemed certain. Each one seemingly miraculously galvanized the troops and engineered strategies that won the wars. Hanson analyses each general and battle, then compares and contrasts the history and circumstances of each and how they may have impacted the battles. An excellent read I highly recommend.