The book John Kelly reads every time he gets a promotion to remind him of `the perils of hubris, the pitfalls of patriotism and duty unaccompanied by critical thinking' The most vivid, moving - and devastating - word-portrait of a World War One British commander ever written, here re-introduced by Max Hastings. C.S. Forester's 1936 masterpiece follows Lt General Herbert Curzon, who fumbled a fortuitous early step on the path to glory in the Boer War. 1914 finds him an honourable, decent, brave and wholly ...
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The book John Kelly reads every time he gets a promotion to remind him of `the perils of hubris, the pitfalls of patriotism and duty unaccompanied by critical thinking' The most vivid, moving - and devastating - word-portrait of a World War One British commander ever written, here re-introduced by Max Hastings. C.S. Forester's 1936 masterpiece follows Lt General Herbert Curzon, who fumbled a fortuitous early step on the path to glory in the Boer War. 1914 finds him an honourable, decent, brave and wholly unimaginative colonel. Survival through the early slaughters in which so many fellow-officers perished then brings him rapid promotion. By 1916, he is a general in command of 100,000 British soldiers, whom he leads through the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, a position for which he is entirely unsuited and intellectually unprepared. Wonderfully human with Forester's droll relish for human folly on full display, this is the story of a man of his time who is anything but wicked, yet presides over appalling sacrifice and tragedy. In his awkwardness and his marriage to a Duke's unlovely, unhappy daughter, Curzon embodies Forester's full powers as a storyteller. His half-hero is patriotic, diligent, even courageous, driven by his sense of duty and refusal to yield to difficulties. But also powerfully damned is the same spirit which caused a hundred real-life British generals to serve as high priests at the bloodiest human sacrifice in the nation's history. A masterful and insightful study about the perils of hubris and unquestioning duty in leadership, The General is a fable for our times.
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Add this copy of The General to cart. $3.21, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1968 by PENGUIN BOOKS LTD.
Add this copy of The General to cart. $3.21, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1968 by PENGUIN BOOKS LTD.
Add this copy of The General (Great War Stories) to cart. $3.29, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published by Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer.
Add this copy of The General (Great War Stories) to cart. $3.29, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published by Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer.
Add this copy of The General (Great War Stories) to cart. $3.29, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published by Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer.
Add this copy of The General (Great War Stories) to cart. $3.29, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published by Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer.
Add this copy of The General (Great War Stories) to cart. $4.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Am.
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Add this copy of The General to cart. $4.46, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill Industries of Tulsa rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tulsa, OK, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by William Collins.
Add this copy of General Pb to cart. $4.52, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published by William Collins.
Add this copy of General Pb to cart. $4.53, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published by William Collins.
