Seven Pillars of Wisdom
The people who get to the top do so because they possess certain institutionally desirable characteristics: They are cautious, they adhere to rules and regulations, they respect and accept authority, they obey their superiors, and they regard discipline and submission to authority as the highest virtues. Twenty-five or thirty years spent gaining pr
... See moreEliot A. Cohen • Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War
The secret of this ultimate tragedy of adventure is psychological; it hides in the nature of the adventurer’s motive, swinish and god-like. It is interwoven in his personality. For this greed they have in all their five senses, for gold, for power, for vainglory, for curiosity, even at their highest moments, the greed for life itself, is dual. It c
... See moreWilliam Bolitho • Twelve Against the Gods: The Story of Adventure
The mud isn’t so bad, at first. He wades through it with barely a grimace. It’s no worse than Agincourt, or the Somme. At least there’s no bullets flying, no hot shell fragments raining down or French coursers charging at him. The only problem is the mail, which weighs him down. And Christ, it’s a hot day. Summers never used to be this hot, he’s su
... See moreThomas D. Lee • Perilous Times
Among the American casualties on the first day of the attack was Lieutenant Colonel George Patton. With his tanks unable to advance, Patton located some lost infantrymen and began to lead them forward when a bullet from a German machine gun tore into his left thigh. The upward trajectory of the slug left an exit wound “just at the crack of my botto
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