Mavericks of war : the unconventional, unorthodox innovators and thinkers, scholars, and outsiders who mastered the art of warfare

During World War I, Oxford-trained archeologist Lawrence of Arabia used his knowledge of the Middle East to help organize the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. In this entertaining and insightful book, Jason Ridler profiles the intellectuals, outsiders, and eccentrics who followed in Lawrence’s footsteps across the next hundred years of warfare and who relied on creativity, curiosity, and outside-the-box thinking to shape battlefields from World War II and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. They were Ivy Leaguers and Oxford scholars, anthropologists and archeologists, an ad executive, an international activist, a Peace Corps veteran, an émigré journalist (and former teenage member of the French Resistance), a diplomat―mavericks and oddballs, men and women―who, not always heralded or heeded and sometimes hated, challenged traditional military thought and helped win wars, secure peace, and change the face of modern war. 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. "Profiles the intellectuals, outsiders, and eccentrics who shaped battlefields from World War II and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan."--Provided by publisher. A military historian sheds light on the maverick thinkers who hatched outlandish plots and shaped warfare from WWI to Vietnam and beyond. During World War I, Oxford-trained archeologist Lawrence of Arabia used his knowledge of the Middle East to help organize the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. In this entertaining and insightful book, Jason Ridler profiles the intellectuals, outsiders, and eccentrics who followed in Lawrence's footsteps across the next hundred years of warfare—those who relied on creativity, curiosity, and outside-the-box thinking to shape battlefields from World War II and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. These men were Ivy Leaguers and Oxford scholars, anthropologists and archeologists. Among them were an ad executive, an international activist, a Peace Corps veteran, an émigré journalist (and former teenage member of the French Resistance), and a diplomat. These mavericks and oddballs—both men and women—were not always heralded or heeded, and sometimes they were hated. But they each challenged traditional military thought and helped win wars, secure peace, and change the face of modern military conflict. 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