American Generalship: Character Is Everything: The Art of Command.

American Generalship: Character Is Everything: The Art of Command by Edgar F. Puryear Jr. Presidio Press (http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/category/military), Random House Publishing Group, 1745 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, 2001, 400 pages, $17.95 (trade paperback).

In American Generalship, Edgar F. Puryear aims to define and explain leadership as practiced by general officers from George Washington to Colin Powell. He builds a useful and highly readable leadership primer filled with historical examples and anecdotes that enable the reader to "hear" top commanders discuss their own experiences.

Puryear's premise is that military members can learn effective leadership skills and techniques from studying what has made great generals successful and what has characterized their styles and philosophies. Military-management studies frequently compare business practices to military ones and try to distill applicable lessons. Uniquely, this book provides hundreds of concrete examples of military officers exercising leadership in situations with which every officer and noncommissioned officer will identify. The author proudly mentions that he has gathered over 10,000 pieces of correspondence and interviews with more than 1,000 general and flag officers, including 100 four-stars. Among those he has interviewed are legends such as Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Matthew Ridgway, Carl Spaatz, Jimmy Doolittle, and Curtis LeMay, granting rare insight into their decision making--not only on major issues of war and peace but also on matters they faced as junior and field-grade officers. Puryear's ability to weave highlights from these discussions into his narrative is compelling, and he relates them in an engaging manner. In addition, he cites examples from Civil War memoirs and great American soldiers who lived before he began his study. He does not deal in esoteric management theories but repeatedly strikes his target with practical examples of military officers confronted with the real challenges of leadership. Most of what his subjects cite is neither battlefield bravado nor the genius many of them displayed as combat leaders, but the hard decisions made by commanders at every level and by program directors as well as section chiefs, doing the everyday work of the military.

As his subtitle indicates, "Character Is Everything," and in these pages the reader finds officers making the "right" choices. Puryear points out that great leaders gain authority from their "strength of character" because "there is absolutely nothing as important in successful leadership as character" (p. 1). He states that several principles are common among great leaders. These include selflessness, decisiveness, willingness to hear opposing views, study of one's profession (and related issues), mentoring, and having sufficient trust in subordinates to delegate authority. All of these are essential to success and growth within the military profession and are real expressions of the Air Force's core values. None are always easy, yet all are crucial to success in command or in any leadership role. One unique aspect of this book is its touch on intangibles, such as a sixth sense in decision making (a feel for morale, conditions, and situations) and consideration for others. Although both are essential to any leader, neither is easily defined. In describing them, Puryear provides a reminder that much of what we do as leaders is undefined but indispensable. A leader who is trusted will be able to use these indescribable qualities more freely than one who is not.

The interviewees' frequent references to their own mistakes is a valuable feature of the book. Many authors show us success and say "do this." The candor shown by Puryear's subjects humanizes them and makes this study more interesting. He relates a story from Maj Gen Lunsford E. Oliver, a commander under Patton. As Oliver's division became increasingly ensnarled with other units on French roads, he was summoned to headquarters. General Patton opened the meeting with the statement "We are in a hell of a mess and it is my fault" (p. 289). These words eased a conscientious subordinate's mind, and he was able to continue with his duties, knowing that he still had his commander's support and that blame would not be pushed down the chain. A story told by Air Force general T. R. Milton presents the view from the perspective of "I personally made a mistake." He recounts an ineffective bombing mission over Germany and how Gen Curtis LeMay had the discernment to see that the mistake was an honest one (p. 290). We should heed the epigraph quoting Gen George Marshall at the beginning of this chapter: "Fix the problem, not the blame" (p. 285). A leader has the vital task of judging when people have made that honest mistake and when they have violated trust or procedure. One is a failure of training or learning; the other is willful or critical. One requires understanding; the other discipline. We can learn as much from failure as from success. It is imperative that leaders exercise this level of sensitivity and judgment.

Furthermore, the personal recollections of World War 11 leaders prove fascinating. We sometimes forget that officers in that great conflict faced limited resources, operational demands, and the typical pressures we confront daily in the military profession. Too often we place these legends in a pantheon, as if they were destined for greatness, forgetting that they were officers trying to do a job while coping with insufficient data, competing requirements, and incredibly difficult taskings, not to mention career issues such as assignments, training, promotion, family needs, and the uncertainties of life. Yet, in tying the experiences of these renowned generals to men such as Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and John J. Pershing, as well as leaders of our own time--H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, and Charles Horner-Puryear builds historical unity in these principles, validating their timeless nature and memorably reinforcing them by scaling these heroes in human proportions.

American Generalship gives us an opportunity to learn from leaders worthy of emulation and to ponder the way they coped with situations not too different from those with which we deal every day. Many authors give us bits that we can put in our leadership toolbox, but Puryear provides a rich resource for all military professionals who expect to face the challenges of leadership.

Col James M. Pfaff, Ohio ANG 

Columbus, Ohio