Ataturk: Lessons in Leadership From the Greatest General of the Ottoman Empire (World Generals Series) Hardcover – Import, 16 August 2011

Wer wissen will, wie man sich die Theorien von Carl von Clausewitz in der Realität vorstellen soll, der sollte dieses Buch lesen.Allerdings sind gute Englisch-Kenntnisse eine Vorraussetzung.Eine deutsche Übersetzung würde ich auch kaufen.Zudem empfehle ich dieses Buch besonders Jenen, die sich mit dem 1.WK. bereits beschäftigt haben.

There is, finally, a really good biography of Atatürk written by an American; a soldier, no less. "Atatürk" by Austin Bay focuses more on Atatürk's achievements as a soldier than a statesman, who won the peace after fierce battles. Winning the peace is such an amazing achievement that it is understandable why historians might pay attention especially to that. Even his once-enemy had nominated him for the Nobel peace prize. But Ataturk was first and foremost a military strategist and learning more about his decision making at the battlefields provides a greater illumination into his mind than the idolatry of his good looks.The book goes into the details of the War of Independence against the Greek invasion. Atatürk first stretched them thin, well into Anatolia, by feinting weakness in the form of a withdrawal, and then striking a sledgehammer blow to a decisive point--where there was 5-to-1 superiority--bringing the enemy into a stupor and ending them with the swoosh of a scythe in the form of consolidated cavalry operations that literally threw off the invaders' dead flesh into the Mediterranean.Atatürk told his soldiers to think of defense in terms of area, not in lines. Today's Turkey is thinking in terms of points--a few cities people flock to, leaving large swaths of area underdeveloped, or undeveloped. It has a GDP of only twice that of Egypt, and a mere quarter of France's. There is much that needs to be done in Turkey today. Turks must think in terms of volume of productivity to better its economy and avoid horrid vacuums of human passion that ought to be filled by principles of freedom as espoused by Atatürk. These principles, by the way, precisely map one-to-one to those spelled out in the constitution of the United States of America. Yet, Turkey quibbles over changing the Turkish constitution every decade or so, when they can simply take the World's most valuable possession, which also happens to be free, and use it as their own.

Amazing book, read other books on Ataturk, but this is the only one that focuses on his military achievements and that is what I wanted. Mr Bay has done his research and put together fantastic accounts, hope they translate it for the turkish public because they deserve to read this!

Good reading, great leader...

Colonel Bay's biography is a short summary of the great Ataturk told from a military point of view. While the book provides much more information than just what Ataturk did on the battlefield, it is the first work that I know of in the English language that reviews Ataturk's life and accomplishments from a mostly military standpoint. It illustrates the development and maturity of Ataturk as an outstanding young military officer from his early days at the military academy to his triumphs at Libya, Gallipoli as well as Anatolia during and after World War I. The book shows how Ataturk learned from each of his experiences and used and applied those lessons to future campaigns. More than that, though, the book shows what is possible when you have a military officer that possesses the singular qualities of intelligence, courage, and foresight, along with a relentless desire to succeed, all in one. The forward by General Wesley Clark is also outstanding and there are maps in the front of the book along with some nice black and white photos of Ataturk taken during critical moments in his colorful military career. If you enjoy military history, middle eastern history, or if you just wonder why Ataturk was so successful in his military career and later on in his transformation of the Turkish Republic, then you will enjoy Colonel Bay's book. I know I did.