GREAT SOLDIERS: 1914-1941

Several of these sketches have appeared in the Infantry Journal, but they are written not from a military but from a scholarly angle. De Weerd understands the type, and presents it forcefully against a background of battle. He pre-supposes a good knowledge of the history of both wars; he portrays Pershing, Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, Hindenberg, and others of their stature as leaders, not through involved psychological studies, but as men of action. Except where it may have direct bearing on their military conduct (as in the case of the death of General Schlieffen's wife) their private lives are not touched upon. Glints of wry humor relieve a keen, scientific analysis of how generals on both sides have applied the science of war. Specialized in appeal, but thoroughly readable.