World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary

Spanning the years from the beginning of recorded history to the modern day. "World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary" profiles the influential military leaders whose actions precipitated enormous change in the world around them. From master strategists such as Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, and Napoleon to the great tacticians, including Decatur, Hannibal, and Rommel, this comprehensive A-to-Z biographical dictionary will serve as an indispensable guide to the student and military buff alike. Entries include Alexander III, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oliver Cromwell, Dwight David Eisenhower, Tommy Ray Franks, Genghis Khan, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Robert Edward Lee, Douglas MacArthur, Horatio Nelson, John Joseph Pershing, Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, Saladin, Sir William Wallace, Isoroku, Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, and more.

Grossman has written several other dictionaries and encyclopedias on military and political issues. His latest effort is a biographical reference covering military leaders from Ramses II of ancient Egypt around the time of 1290 BC to General Tommy Franks, who lead Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Only persons who have commanded armies or navies, both large and small, in battle are included, and the only woman in that group is British warrior queen Boudicca. The approximately 239 entries are arranged alphabetically. Most average seven paragraphs in length and start with birth and death dates along with a two- to four-word description of the person; for example, Kublai Khan is described as a "Mongol warlord." Following each entry is a bibliography of references. There are 44 black-and-white illustrations. Several military references contain biographical information but few include all those covered here who actually commanded troops in battle. The two most recent comparable references are Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day (Routledge, 2002), which is limited in the dates it covers, and The Macmillan Dictionary of Military Biography (1998), which has approximately 415 entries that average 1 page in length and cover a similar timeframe as this dictionary. Not an essential purchase, but this Facts On File reference should be considered by college and public libraries with an interest in military biography, especially if they do not have the Macmillan encyclopedia or if they want to add a more current resource. Donaldson, Christine