The typical military history presents a chronicle of battles and wars and the commanders and troops who fought them. This book takes a different approach. It presents battles and wars and people aplenty, but they are not its ultimate subjects. This book is about the turning points that not only make military history dynamic but crucial to the story of humanity and civilization. This book is about the decisions, acts, innovations, errors, ideas, successes, and failures that shaped the evolution of military art and science—strategy, tactics, and technology—and, in doing so, shaped the course of world history.
Here are the 100 points—from the birth of warfare in the Battle of Megiddo, 1457 BC, to the ongoing evolution of military history on its newest battlefield, cyberspace—at which the path of the warrior decisively turned on its long journey to where we find ourselves today.
Arnold J. Toynbee, the most famous professional historian of the twentieth century, is widely quoted as having declared that “History is just one damn thing after another.” This book argues that history is not about “things” at all but is all about turning points—the decisions, acts, innovations, errors, ideas, successes, and failures on which the shape of a nation’s life—our lives—depends. It presents the one hundred points at which America’s path decisively turned on its way to where we find ourselves today.
Columbus arrives in the New World
The first slaves arrive in America
Independence is declared
Female suffragists meet in Seneca Falls
Fort Sumter falls
A transcontinental railroad is completed
Edison lights his first electric lamp
FDR offers a “New Deal”
The B-29 Enola Gay drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon
President Nixon creates the EPA
9/11, Obama, Sandy Hook, Russian election “meddling,” and the Age of Trump
These and many more are the crucial “plot points” in our grand national story, and bestselling historian Alan Axelrod presents them here.
Immediately after the armistice was signed in November, 1918, an American journalist asked Paul von Hindenburg who won the war against Germany. He was the chief of the German General Staff, co-architect with Erich Ludendorff of Germany's Eastern Front victories and its nearly war-winning Western Front offensives, and he did not hesitate in his answer. "The American infantry," he said. He made it even more specific, telling the reporter that the final death blow for Germany was delivered by "the American infantry in the Argonne."
The British and the French often denigrated the American contribution to the war, but they had begged for U.S. entry into the conflict, and their stake in America's victory was, if anything, even greater than that of the United States itself. But How America Won World War I will not litigate the points of view of Britain and France. The book will accept as gospel the assessment of the top German leader whose job it had been to oppose the Americans directly-that the American infantry won the war-and this book will tell how the American infantry did it.
Alan Axelrod's Lost Destiny is a rare exploration of the origin of today's controversial military drones as well as a searing and unforgettable story of heroism, WWII, and the Kennedy dynasty that might have been.
Using the same engrossing anecdotal format that has proved so popular in Profiles in Audacity, Alan Axelrod now turns to the dark side of audacious decision-making: those choices that, in retrospect, were shockingly wrongheaded. Although Axelrod investigates some dumb decisions by stupid people and some evil decisions by evil people, the overwhelming majority of these decisions were made by good, smart people whose poor judgment produced disastrous, often irreversible results. The 35 compelling and often poignant stories, which range from ancient times to today, include: The Trojan Horse; the Children's Crusade; the sailing of the Titanic, and the false belief that it just couldn't sink; Edward Bernays's 1929 campaign to recruit women smokers; Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of the Nazis; Ken Lay's deception with Enron; and even the choice to create a "New Coke" and fix what wasn't broke. As with Profiles in Audacity, the deftly drawn vignettes will pique interest, satisfy curiosity, give pleasure, and present valuable lessons. And in addition to offering the same insightful analysis of the decision-making process, Folly also includes objective post-mortems that explain what went wrong and why. These are cautionary tales-albeit with exquisite twists ranging from acerbic to horrific.
A journey of exploration through history's great decisions and those who had the courage to make them.
In brief, compelling, and inspiring vignettes, bestselling historian Alan Axelrod pinpoints and investigates the make-or-break event in the lives and careers of some of history's most significant figures. Axelrod reexamines history by revealing the answer to the fascinating question of why the people who made history made their choices-and conveys the resonance of those choices today. The 46 profiles range from ancient times to the present day and include Cleopatra's decision to rescue Egypt; Washington's decision to cross the Delaware and win; Gandhi's decision to prevail against the British Empire without bloodshed; Truman's decision to drop the A-bomb and end WW II; Rosa Parks decision to sit in for civil rights; Boris Yeltsin's decision to embrace a new world order; and Flight 93's decision to take a stand against terror.
Fourteen Lessons to instruct, inspire, and encourage... History's great leaders have much to teach us, and no one outshines Alan Axelrod in extracting those lessons and applying them to today's business world. His Elizabeth I, CEO and Patton on Leadership both became BusinessWeek bestsellers-and now, to follow his recent Winston Churchill, CEO, Axelrod has found a new and perhaps surprising subject for his popular format: Gandhi. Gandhi, a CEO? Absolutely-and an incomparable example for our uncertain times, when we need leaders we can trust and admire. Not only was he a moral and intensely spiritual man, but also a supremely practical manager and a powerful agent for change, able to nurture the rebirth of an entire nation. To achieve this goal, he mastered the elements of personal leadership and institutional management. Axelrod looks at this much-studied figure in a way nobody has before, employing his fluid, engaging, and conversational style to bring each lesson to life through quotes and vivid examples from Gandhi's life.
Following his BusinessWeek bestsellers Elizabeth I, CEO and Patton on Leadership comes a new and perfect subject for Alan Axelrod's innovative format: Winston Churchill, the quintessential leader of the 20th century. Churchill skillfully converted crisis into victory, making the boldest of visions seem attainable; even though he sometimes failed audaciously, he embraced his errors and used them to become stronger. Axelrod looks at this much-studied figure in a way nobody has before: he explores 25 key facets of Churchill's leadership style and decision-making from his early years as a junior cavalry officer and journalist to his role throughout WWII and demonstrates how he was able to overcome near-impossible obstacles. Fluidly and engagingly written, each lesson is enlivened with a vivid vignette from Churchill's life. As always, Axelrod's penetrating analysis will instruct, inspire, and encourage those who lead business enterprises, large and small.
Known by his troops in World War II as "The Soldier's General" because of his care of and compassion for the soldiers under his command, Omar Bradley commanded the U. S. 12th Army Group in Europe. By the spring of 1945, this group contained 4 field armies, 12 corps, 48 divisions, and more than 1,300,000 men—the largest exclusively American field command in U.S. history.
“He was America’s General, embodying…core values of integrity and respect that reflected the democracy he served…The leadership lessons are universal, and they are timeless.”—Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Daniel Christman, former superintendent, US Military Academy, West Point
George S. Patton was a general who achieved greatness in his field by contradicting his own nature. A cavalryman steeped in romantic military tradition, he nevertheless pulled a reluctant American military into the most advanced realms of highly mobile armored warfare. An autocratic snob, Patton created unparalleled rapport and loyalty with the lowliest private in his command. An outspoken racist, he led the only racially integrated U.S. military unit in World War II. A profoundly insecure individual, he made his Third Army the most self-confident and consistently victorious fighting force in the European theater. An exuberantly profane man, he prayed daily and believed God had destined him for military greatness.
Alan Axelrod delivers a fascinating account of Patton's extraordinary life and legacy.
“Axelrod has captured Patton’s checkered legacy in a balanced biography.”—Publishers Weekly
