The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell

The book is a good book to help military officers study successful leaders, and possibly motivate these officers to grow, but that's about the extent of its utility.The book is based on the trait theory of leadership, and each chapter illustrates a trait through the story of a general. Two problems; one, most in behavioral science have moved past the trait theory of leadership (about 70 years ago), and two, the bios sometimes feel shoe-horned to fit the trait being described.Not a bad book, but not great either.

A well organized collection on 9 specific aspects of leadership as embodied by historical figures (Chesty Puller, Eisenhower, Powell, etc.). Strong analysis with support and some counterarguments make this read move swiftly and fully supporting the theme for each chapter.

I bought this book for a graduate class in leadership, and I have enjoyed reading it.As opposed to other 'texts', it is simply written, so it is easy and pleasant to sit through.The only negative is it does go into a lot of detail about the middle years of each person's careers, which became somewhat monotonous. If the author had summarized these years a bit more, it would have kept my interest better.That being said, learning of each military leaders' early years and development was interesting and worth reading.

The Art of Command highlights specific leader traits from various United States military leaders, dating back to George Washington. This is a simple book; a great readif you've never read a history book, or are unfamiliar with the leaders that are used as examples in the book.

My husband needed this for his army college course. I didn't read it but am told the content is actually quite interesting and anyone going to the Army college for CGSG is going to NEED it so be prepared to buy it when the post library doesn't carry it!

This is a good, not great book. While there are some very good stories regarding leaders, the analyses are somewhat superficial. This is likely a function of the word limits provided to the contributors. I felt like I was reading awards citations written by fawning subordinates about leaders who are just a little "too perfect". The fact is that some of these leaders had faults that are simplistically over-looked but important to consider in any serious leadership discussions. This is a primer for introducing key leaders but should be used with care since it does not provide the depth necessary to critically analyze the leadership used by the subjects. It is a level above "Wiki" knowledge but does not substitute for in-depth biographies.

Great deal!

Great read. I learned a lot I had not known before. The stories glossed over quite a bit but if you really want the full story, go get the biography.