"Profiles the intellectuals, outsiders, and eccentrics who shaped battlefields from World War II and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan."--Provided by publisher.

Introduction: Leachman's ghost -- Part 1. Mavericks of the Great War -- "Those Who Dream in Daylight": T.E. Lawrence and the impact of a maverick of war -- "The lone and hopeless struggle": Wilhelm Wassmuss and the German experiment in Islamic insurgencies, 1914-1918 Part 2. Global war on ignorance & the Axis: The Special Operations Executive and the Office of Strategic Services -- "Dishonest adventurers": Monty Woodhouse and the SOE in Greece during the Second World War -- "Despite the handicap of her sex": Cora Du Bois, OSS Research and Analysis Chief in South East Asia, 1943-1945 -- Part 3. Mavericks of Vietnam -- Expert in exile: Bernard Fall and speaking truth to Power in Vietnam -- The ad man and the wolf: The victories and defeats of Edward Lansdale and Charles Bohannon in Southeast Asia, 1945-1968 -- Part 4. Mavericks after Vietnam -- Prelude: Gertrude Bell and war in "a devil's cauldron"--Warlords, commanders, and the truth: Sarah Chayes in Afghanistan, 2002-2010 -- British pacifist vs. American pride: Emma Sky in Iraq, 2003-2010.