Heroes Villains: Inside the minds of the greatest warriors in history by Frank McLynn

Heroes Villains: Inside the minds of the greatest warriors in history Reviews

• 
  Gregory Mcdonald

  Overall an enjoyable and informative read. If you're the type that likes the disinterested author who presents "just the facts" this probably isn't the book for you. Mr. McLynn has very definite points of view on his six subjects: Attilla the Hun,Spartacus,Cortes,Richard the Lionheart,Tokugawa Ieyaso,and Napoleon,and he doesn't shrink from giving it to you.
  
  
  
  In brief, he sees Attila as more of a thug(a 5th century B.C. Tony Soprano) that a top flight warrior. Spartacus has his merits,but was crippled by the group of people he was forced to use as his army. Cortes was an often brilliant,always charismatic self absorbed criminal. Tokugawa he judges to have been a much better politician than warrior.
  
  
  
  The two bios that interested me most were Richard and Napoleon. Richard's star has fallen much in modern times. When talked about at all it's usualy to discuss his possible homosexuality and whether or not he and the king of France were lovers as well as rivals. Mr. McLynn leaves all that aside and presents Richard as a master of strategy,tactics,and logistics. Duallity sums up his view on Napoleon. He agrees with the sentiment that he had "the richest natural gifts ever recieved by mortal man," but he also believes his faults may have been even greater. Impatience and an internal war between the rational and the romantic are the two that stood out for me.
  
  
  
  I'll close the review with Mr. Mc Lynn's own words: "The great warrior must be a master of strategy and tactics,have high military talents,boldness,cunning,self-belief,be lucky,fight in the right circumstances and against an almost equally matched foe."
• 
  Gregg Shoemaker

  Not a bad look at these 6 men of history and what they accomplished and their overall affect on history. The author also does a pretty good job of discussing the psychology of the men and doing a small comparison of them against each other. Nothing spectacular about the book but a great way to spend some time reading a favorite topic, history.
• 
  Katherine Basto

  I often enjoy books that give a long vignette on famous peoples' lives. It leads me to want to read more on the subject matter. In "Heroes and Villians" Frank McLynn writes about famous warriors of the past, including Spartacus, Attila the Hun, King Richard the Lionhearted and others.
  McLynn is clearly an expert on siegecraft and different battles, as well as historical context and what led up to different wars and battles. The different chapter's maps were helpful, clear and useful in understanding the landscape and the time these wars happened.
  The reason I'm giving it 4 stars(really 3.5) is that all the author offers at the end of the book is a Selected Bibliography. There's no footnotes or chapter notes. For example, in the chapter on Attila the Hun, McLynn mentions the author Pricus, and that he was the only one who described the Huns and their lifestyle. When I went to look in the back, no books by the author Pricus were mentioned. I had to do my own research to discover that Pricus's writings were lost and only fragments remain. Well, where is the source and explanation for this omission? How frustrating! Readers like to know where the information came from and on these subject matters, the reader deserves far more than just a selected bibliography. At least it would have aided readers to add chapter notes!
  Overall, an interesting, at times disjointed read!
• 
  Amarjeet Singh

  A historian's history tells us much about the historian's own era as well as the era they select to tackle. In the 21st century humankind has become an animal with pent-up energy, unable to unleash its aggressiveness and subsequently unable to furnish heroes and anti-heroes of yore who warriors followed through thick and thin and even to the gates of death and beyond unquestioningly.
  
  So who were such heroes or even villains? McLynn selects Cortez, Lionheart, Spartacus, Attila, Ieyasu and Napoleon. The preponderant relationship factor between all six is the infamy attached to their names post-mortem. By carefully charting their rise and fall and the legacy they bequeathed to posterity, McLynn builds a successful case to argue that their psychology and power of will influenced their military careers as much as the fate which thrust them in the limelight. Alongside is the fact that this psychology was similar in each and every case.
  
  Now back to the Carrian premises that you can explore a historian's own era through the history they write of another era. McLynn's arguments establish one thing: we require a consistent supply heroes and villains today to fuel our passions. Maybe this is why we are more prone today to studying the knaves of the past than ever before.
• 
  Christopher Fox

  In the last Chapter, McLynn explores what he considers to be the characteristics, motivations and leadership and 'warriorship'. The rest of the book takes a globe-spanning list of 6 representative warriors and while not giving a comprehensive overview of their careers, focuses on one particular battle or campaign in exquisite and readable detail to illustrate their qualities. I particularly liked the section on Attila the Hun if for no other reason that he's almost a household name and yet there is paltry material about him and the real story of the epic changes he brought to Europe and the course of civilization.
  
  An easy read.
• 
  TheMadReader

  I genuinely enjoy Frank Mclyn’s work, especially on Napoleon.
  
  This book is an easy read with tons of knowledge to gain from.
• 
  Jwduke

  Intersting take on warriors. McLynn offers a fresh perspective on six warriors and explains what made them great. Worth the read if you only read one of the following chapters Richard The Lionheart, Attila The Hun, and Napoleon. Those were the chapters I enjoyed the most, and the one I learned the most from.
• 
  James

  I would have enjoyed it if the book were deeper. Mile wide, inch deep. Odd middle ground of informative and assuming you know the stories of their campaigns. Learned a lot but I wanted more.
• 
  Chris

  Good overview of six famous warriors and study of warrior mentality. No end-notes--only an annotated bibliography. I would have liked to have seen some historical backup for some of his conclusions.
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  Bev

  Enjoyed reading it though all were villains by today's standards. Good to compare what they did with talents and options available to them.
• 
  Rob

  A enjoyable examination of 6 luming figures in military history. Excellent!