The Great Courses

The author of this survey of military blunders avers that “there is so much that can be learned from studying failure, particularly when it’s unexpected.” He explains that to qualify as a “blunder,” it must be avoidable; involve a decision that circumstances suggested was unwise; involve someone who failed to take an obvious action; and include an element of identifiable blame for the critical mistake.

He then goes on to explore a number of such military blunders, including such famous battles as “The Parthian Shot” at Carrhae in 53 BC, Culloden in Scotland in 1746, Custer’s Last Stand in 1876, and Gallipoli in 1915. The stories about each battle are fun and interesting, but I’m not sure they actually yield any useful lessons. Surely if unqualified generals or unwise decisions could have been avoided, they would have.

Putative lessons aside, I enjoyed listening to all these anecdotes, especially those covering battles I had heard about by name only but not in detail.… (mehr)

I think I'd actually rate this one closer to 3.5 stars - the subject matter was interesting and Aldrete brought everything together well at the end, but the duration of the lecture series wasn't as compelling as some of the other ones I've read. The content was there as well as the details, but Aldrete's reading sounded very much like it was awkwardly read from a script and after a while the cadence became lulling rather than interesting. Basically, the topic was interesting but the professor didn't quite get me there.

For anyone interested in military history, or even just history, this lecture series is worth checking out. It's an interesting overview of moments that changed the path of the world through poor decisions and narcissism. Had any of these leaders behaved differently, our story would be different. Napoleon or Alexander the Great may have continued to conquer, which could have changed the shape of Europe and Asia... and that's only the beginning. It's interesting to think about.

Not the best, not the worst, this lecture series is worth looking at if you're already interested in the topic by you can probably bypass it otherwise - the speaker will likely not draw you in.… (mehr)