Warriors: Portraits from the Battlefield (Vintage) - Softcover

"Fantastically entertaining. . . . [Hastings] acts as a sort of Plutarch to the modern warrior. His 'lives' are splendidly done, full of compelling narrative and telling detail." --The Wall Street Journal"Hastings is an expert literary craftsman who makes the most out of stories that, however often repeated, are never less than gripping.... a first-rate piece of entertainment."--The Washington Post Book World"Clever, absorbing and vividly written. . . Max Hasting is very good on the matter of courage."--The New York Review of Books"Hastings has written a marvelous book. Wry, perceptive and engaging, it lays bare the curious mix of character traits - good and bad - that a successful warrior requires."--The Sunday Telegraph

Heroism in battle has been celebrated throughout history, yet it is one of the least understood virtues. What makes some men and women perform extraordinary deeds on the battlefield? What makes them risk their lives in the pursuit of victory?Max Hastings, one of our foremost military historians, has seen combat up close and written about it for decades. InWarriors, he brings us the experiences of fourteen soldiers who fought in the wars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From an exuberant cavalry officer in Napoleon’s army to an abused orphan who in World War II became America’s youngest general since Custer, to an Israeli officer who recovered from a devastating injury to save his country, each portrait depicts a unique and remarkable story. A tribute to soldierly valor and a deeply insightful study of combat, this is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand what it means to be at war.