Alexander the Great, the greatest general ever known. Khalid, the "Sword of Allah." Amr ibn Al-As, three-time conqueror of Egypt. Scipio Africanus and Gaius Claudius Nero, the defeaters of Hannibal. The indomitable Stonewall Jackson.
Six military leaders from different eras and races who shaped history.
Martin William Banks analyzes the actions of these military geniuses through the eyes of a trained military mind. While historians and academics tend to focus on what happened, Banks goes a step further and reveals the how behind the greatest military accomplishments of the last two thousand years.
Starting with Stonewall Jackson's incomparable campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, Banks looks back to Khalid's unique triumph in the Second Yarmouk battle, where he faced and annihilated a Persian army with odds of two-to-one in its favor. Explaining, perhaps for the first time in 1400 years, how it was done.
He then examines the military genius of Alexander the Great, aged twenty-one, in the first year of his kingship and the clash of military geniuses arising from Hannibal's attempt to crush the Roman Empire.
Each story is unique, revealing skills and strategy as applicable today as they were then-in business and politics, as well as war.
These are the greatest military minds in history. And they have much to teach us.
About the Author: Martin William Banks was commissioned into the Royal Marines at age eighteen, directly after finishing school. After serving for twelve years, he moved into business marketing.
The CEO of two charities, Banks currently works in restoration and the archives of a historical house museum. An avid reader since childhood, he enjoys books centered on history both ancient and modern, as well as autobiographies and biographies of prominent politicians, military leaders, poets, and writers. He especially admires the works of Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Walter Scott, Patrick O'Brien, and Donna Leon.
