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BOOK REVIEW - WISDOM OF THE GENERALS

(William A. Cohen, PhD)

1. Introduction to the Book. Wisdom of Generals offers more than

300 contributions from more than one hundred generals and admirals
going all the way back to the earliest days of recorded history. Cohen
illustrates in his book practical lessons learned from outstanding military
leaders of the history. He elaborates that these lessons can be applied
to everyday life. Arranged chronologically, Wisdom of the Generals
reflects insights from leaders in wars fought around the globe, from the
French Revolution to America's War of Independence, from the Civil War
to the great World Wars, from the Korean War to Desert Storm. Each
quotation is placed within the context of the events that inspired it and
accompanied by a capsule profile of the general or admiral who stated it.
Caesar, Sun Tsu, Peter the Great, Washington, Lafayette, Sherman,
Joan of Arc, Pershing, Togo, MacArthur, Vandenberg, Schwartzkopf --
these are just a few of the leaders with words of impact on subjects vital
to accomplishment: honor, commitment, integrity, teamwork, discipline,
perseverance, optimism, and much more. Book details are attached as
Annexure A.
2. Aim. Is to carryout analysis of book “Wisdom of The Generals” by
Major General William A. Cohen while suggesting recommendations for
betterment of organization.
3. Sequence. Order of sequence adopted for carrying out review is
as under:-
a. About the Author
b. Book Review
c. Analysis
d. Recommendations
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4. About the Author. Maj. Gen. William A. Cohen is mobilization

assistant to the Commander, Air Education and Training Command,
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He is the senior Reservist and senior
officer in the command advising on Reserve matters. He is responsible
for providing leadership to the Reserve program at locations around the
country. This includes the development and direction of Reserve
initiatives, procurement and training of Reserve personnel in support of
the command's active-duty force and the productive and efficient
utilization of Air Force Reservists assigned to the command in
peacetime, and their readiness for mobilization in time of war or national
emergency. General Cohen entered the Air Force in 1959 as a graduate
of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and was previously a
distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at
Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo. He is a master navigator
and has flown more than 3,500 hours in bombardment, attack and
transport aircraft. He flew 174 combat missions in special operations,
attack aircraft in Vietnam and additional combat missions in the Middle
East during the Yom Kippur War as a member of the Israeli air force.
5. Book Review. A unique collection of words of inspiration from
military leaders throughout the ages. From Alexander the Great to Colin
Powell, outstanding military leaders have inspired troops to victory not by
action alone, but by words of courage and conviction. William A. Cohen,
author of the newly revised management classic, Wisdom of the
Generals, brings together 150 resounding pronouncements and
reflections from the world’s most celebrated military leaders, from
ancient times to recent history.
a. First Chapter. In first chapter writer sets stage for his key
subject. He narrates that everyone in this world has expended
his life, wealth, resources and learnt some universally true and
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applicable lessons. He explained that how traits in hardened

conditions of battle are equally applicable and useful in facing
common challenges in life. In the end he elusively bridged
relation between soldiery and challenges of a normal civilian.
b. Second Chapter. Writer has categorized this great body of
wisdom into more than sixty topic categories. These topics
mainly include Adversity, Aggressiveness, Attitude, Flexibility,
Competence, Defence, Logistics, Respect, Responsibility and
Decision making etc. Some of the worth mentioning topics are
explained in ensuing paragraphs.
(1) Adversity. Writers says that whenever there is an
adversity, there is always a way. One has to find ways out
of adversities and not adversities out of ways. He
advocated following of successful people and narrated
that successful people do what unsuccessful people
simply won’t do. He modified the same in leadership to
reflect that successful leaders do what less successful
leaders simply won’t do. About adversity, wisdom of
General is:
“All successful projects are simply a long series of
adversities which must be overcome”.
(2) Aggressiveness. Writer gives a different view of
aggression. It means someone who is proactive in
approaching any task or assignment. He quotes
Calusewitz saying that it is action that governs all of our
affairs in life. About aggressiveness wisdom of General is:
“Don’t worry about potential mistakes; you will make them
any way – press on”.
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(3) Communication. According to Willium Cohen there is

hardly anything that could be done without
communication. He quotes Patten saying that issuing
order is only ten percent of problem. Getting them
understood and implemented is most difficult challenge.
About communication wisdom of General says;
“To win battles, succeed in fund-raising, build a business, or
succeed at anything else, you must communicate”
(4) Initiative. Initiative means proactive. It means to take
the first step. When you’re playing the big leagues, you
can’t afford to sit around and dawdle. Write quotes
General Marshall’s saying that in life the ball is always
kicking around loose in the middle of the field waiting for
any individual to pick it up and run with it. Further in
words of General Freytage;
“No one who shows initiative should be punished for
exceeding their authority”
(5) Integrity. In this topic writer mentions of a research he
conducted on more than 200 retired combat leaders
including sixty two generals and admirals. He declares
that these 200 combat leaders pursued a very successful
non-combat career. He asserts further that 95% of the
factors that attributed success to these combat leaders
comprised of only eight categories, top of which was none
other than Integrity. Wisdom of general says;
“Integrity is foundation for success and all leadership”
c. Third Chapter. In third chapter writer has given account of
individuals that come from every age, every country and all
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military services. The sole criteria chosen was flag rank (that
is general or admiral). He talks about Vice Admiral James B.
Stockdale, U.S Navy (1923) who graduated from Naval
Academy in 1946 and became a naval aviator. Shot down
over North Vietnam and imprisoned during his second tour of
combat, he endured seven and half years of torture and
unsuccessful attempts to break him, including four years of
solitary confinement. After his release, he became the symbol
of moral and physical courage under adversity and resistance
to ill treatment while a prisoner. He was awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honour.
6. Analysis. Contributors to this book are decorated military officers of
general and admiral ranks. Incorporating wisdom of generals’, writer
has very rationally advocated adoption of combat concepts for
attainment of success. However, all writer research is based on
merely 200 military officers, that too of the highest rank. It is obvious
that officers attaining such a high rank are otherwise outstandingly
efficient and were likely to achieve success in every filed. It would
have been more appropriate if writer would have touched wisdom of
experts in related fields as well. However this fact cannot be denied
that if qualities mentioned in book are adopted religiously, chances of
success increases manifolds. Some of the observations on book are:-
a. Monotonous. Readers tend to get bored due to monotonous
nature of the book. Chapter 2 is all about quotes of generals
without dwelling the basis of those sayings. Likewise Chapter 3
narrates very brief biography of generals without any visualised
lessons.
b. Approach as a Whole on Subject . Writer has described each
category in isolation without developing links. As different
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circumstances demand different responses and set of activities

eg given inferior technology, Boldness is not always a viable
option.
c. Principles for success in all walks of life cannot be sought from
profession that is completely different from the rest.
7. Recommendations. It is strongly recommended that effort be made
to infuse wisdom of generals in our young generation. It will
considerably enhance not only their character traits but also
professional skills. Following are recommended to read this book for
reasons mentioned against each;
a. Students. To guide them to path of success.
b. Cadets. To instil leadership qualities in them right from outset.
c. Armed Forces Personnel. Leadership, Planning, Initiative,
Courage, Duty and enthusiasm will inculcate in them qualities
which will ensure their success in every campaign.
d. Businessmen. To incorporate ratified combat concepts into their
businesses.
e. Politicians. Topics like Morale, Problem solving, boldness,
planning and management will help them in dealing their routine
affairs efficiently.
f. Commoners. Hope, Imagination, Flexibility, Failure and
humour will bring peace and livelihood in their lives and help them
improve their routine matters.
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Annexure A

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title The wisdom of the generals: from adversity to success,

and from fear to victory : how to triumph in business
and in life
Author William A. Cohen
Compiled by William A. Cohen
Edition Reissue
Publisher Prentice Hall, 2001
Original from Indiana University
Digitized 7 Apr 2010
Length 231 pages
Subjects  Armed forces
 Armed forces/ Officers/ Quotations
 Business & Economics / Entrepreneurship
 Business & Economics / General
 Business & Economics / Leadership
 Command of troops
 Command of troops/ Quotations, maxims, etc
 Fiction / War & Military
 History / Military / General
 History / Military / Strategy
 Leadership
 Quotations, English
 Reference / Quotations
 Strategy
 Strategy/ Quotations, maxims, etc