While it is easy to identify "great" commanders, something more than a favorable ratio of wins to losses is needed to establish greatness. A great commander is generally considered to be one who attains the unexpected or the unprecedented; one who stands above his contemporaries through his skill on the battlefield, or through the sheer magnitude of his accomplishments. This study presents seven such commanders, selected because they were masters of warfare in their particular time and environment.

Introduction / Christopher R. Gabel -- Alexander the enigma / Edward Bowie -- Genghis Khan / Terry Beckenbaugh -- Napoleon Bonaparte / Mark T. Gerges -- Warrior of the waves: Nelson's legacy to naval commandership / John T. Kuehn -- John J. Pershing: "The very model of a modern major general" / Richard S. Faulkner -- Rommel: beyond the desert fox / Mark M. Hull -- Curtis E. LeMay / John M. Curatola.