Kirkus
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Six long accounts of wars in which great captains fought on either side. Excepting the occasional masterpiece like John Keegan’s The Face of Battle, military buffs often look down their noses at the “great battles” genre. However, historians and professors Lacey (Marine Corps War College) and Murray (Naval War College) follow their previous book, Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World (2013), with another expert mixture of lively nuts-and-bolts descriptions of combat and opinions on why some legendary generals won their wars and others did not. Hannibal kept defeating Roman armies, but Romans never gave up; eventually, their best general, Scipio, defeated Hannibal. Caesar is better known, but Pompey, equally triumphant during his lifetime, chose the wrong allies when the two had a falling out. During the Crusades, Richard the Lionhearted won many victories, but Saladin possessed more resources and patience, so Richard’s goal, Jerusalem, remained out of reach. Napoleon’s early victories saved revolutionary France and then megalomania took over. Against stubborn enemies, megalomaniacal leaders, no matter how brilliant, sooner or later make stupid decisions, and Napoleon did not break the mold. Robert E. Lee knew how to win battles, but Ulysses S. Grant knew how to win the war. Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, and George Patton were successful despite vastly disparate personalities. “Entirely different cultures, both national and military, formed their approaches to leadership,” write the authors in the “Conclusion” section of that chapter. In this genre, it’s obligatory to tie matters together with an insightful historical analysis, and the authors do their best without breaking new ground. They emphasize that wars are won by generals with a strategic overview of what they must accomplish (Scipio, Saladin, Grant) and lost by those who concentrate on winning battles (Hannibal, Napoleon, Lee). While collections of descriptions of famous campaigns remain the lowest common denominator of military history, this is a solid addition to the genre. Good reading for military buffs who enjoyed the authors’ previous book. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Military historians Lacey and Murray follow Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World with a stylish and intriguing survey of showdowns between “military geniuses” from the Second Punic War in 218 BCE to the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The authors’ six case studies feature Hannibal vs. Scipio; Julius Caesar vs. Pompey; Richard I vs. Saladin; Napoleon Bonaparte vs. the Duke of Wellington; Ulysses S. Grant vs. Robert E. Lee; and George S. Patton and Bernard Montgomery vs. Edwin Rommel. In addition to examining the personalities and tactics of each commander, Lacey and Murray trace the historical evolution of combat, arguing that after the Industrial Revolution, wars could no longer be won with a single decisive battle, but became “a matter of assembling the greatest amount of resources and putting together an effective alliance system to overwhelm one’s opponents.” Their brisk recaps of the Battle of Arsuf in the Third Crusade, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and Grant’s Overland Campaign in the Civil War, among other clashes, include colorful details and memorable quotations from the outsize personalities involved. Though the general vs. general structure has been used before, Lacey and Murray deliver a fresh take on the formula. Military history buffs will be enthralled. (May)

Library Journal
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The legendary exploits of history's greatest military leaders have traveled down through time, often taking on a life of their own. In this series of comparative biographies, Lacey (War, Policy, & Strategy, Marine Corps War Coll.; The Washington War) and Murray (emeritus, history, Ohio State Univ.; The Savage War) examine what they describe as a "rare commodity," military genius. In a series of short biographies, the lives of history's greatest military rivals and the battles they fought are examined. The careers of Hannibal and Scipio, Caesar and Pompey, Richard I and Saladin, Napoleon and the 1st Duke of Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, and Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, and George S. Patton are told in clear and vivid prose. The battles, tactics, and decisions that form the core of this book are told in a way that nonspecialists will understand and enjoy. The changing face of war is explored as battles of the ancient era lost their importance, and the ability of industrialized countries to field large armies became more important. VERDICT Readers interested in military history and the lives of some of history's noteworthy generals will enjoy the range and scope of this book.—Chad E. Statler, Westlake Porter P.L., Westlake, OH