Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live
The badasses populating the pages of Badass are the most savagely awesome historical figures to ever strap on a pair of chain mail gauntlets and run screaming into battle. Author — considered by many to be the Internet’s foremost expert on badassitude—has gathered together a rogues’ gallery of butt-stomping rogues, from Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan to Blackbeard, George S. Patton, and Bruce Lee.
This second volume about Japan's samurai commanders covers the generals of the later years of the Age of the Warring States, a period when only the most able leaders survived. This was a time when the prowess of a commander was measured as much by his strategic and organizational abilities as by his individual fighting skills and he was expected to give as great a show of strength in the council chamber as on the battlefield. This book discusses the lives, battles and wider roles of talented commanders such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi - great men who stood out prominently due to their elaborate suits of armour and helmets, their stunning personal heraldry and their great armies.
The samurai were the military elite of medieval and early modern Japan, and the men who led them were hailed as the very greatest, most heroic and most honourable of all samurai warriors. This first of two books examines the lives, equipment, battles and wider roles of the samurai commanders between 940 and 1576, the period from the emergence of the samurai to the triumph of Oda Nobunaga, who set Japan on the road to reunification. The styles of armour and weaponry of the samurai changed considerably during this time and this book visually recreates some of the most famous samurai commanders.
Julius Caesar: The background, strategies, tactics and battlefield experiences of the greatest commanders of history
One of the greatest military commanders in history, Julius Caesar's most famous victory - the conquest of Gaul - was to him little more than a stepping stone to power. An audacious and decisive general, his victories over the Gauls allowed him to challenge for the political leadership of Rome. Leading a single legion across the Rubicon in 49 BC, Caesar launched a civil war which would end the Roman Republic and usher in the Roman Empire, with Caesar at its helm.
Lee Moves North reveals how the general's penchant for secrecy about his plans—a prerequisite for the political battle he waged with his superiors in Richmond—undermined the Army of Northern Virginia. Keeping his true intentions hidden from President Jefferson Davis and Secretary of War James Seddon meant also keeping the plans secret from even the army's trusted corps commanders. As a result, inadequate support, poor or nonexistent staff work, and confusion about campaign objectives all contributed to failure.
