I seem to be absorbed these days in the topic of leadership, especially military leadership, especially the kind that goes pear-shaped. I think I got entangled reading Jean Edward Smith's fine biography of Eisenhower, and trying to make sense of exactly what he did and how. Then Tom Ricks' The Generals, which pursues the same topic in a larger arena. Right now I'm wrapped up in Paul Kennedy's Engineers of Victory, about World War II from what you might call the level of "middle management." It's superb and I hope to say more about it later. Meanwhile, this is a fine time for a couple of my favorite stirring military anthems:
Afterthought: yes, I first zeroed in on "Hitler" in its original avatar as the Colonel Bogey March, in David Lean's Bridge over the River Kwai, which used to be one of my favorite movies--until I realized it was about the Brits giving management advice to the Japanese, whereupon I lost all capacity to take it with a straight face. You'll remember that in the movie, they whistle, all in tune and in time. I think I read somewhere that they selected whistling instead of the more plausible verbal rendition because they didn't want to distract from the story. Anyway, Be Happy In Your Work!
Afterthought: yes, I first zeroed in on "Hitler" in its original avatar as the Colonel Bogey March, in David Lean's Bridge over the River Kwai, which used to be one of my favorite movies--until I realized it was about the Brits giving management advice to the Japanese, whereupon I lost all capacity to take it with a straight face. You'll remember that in the movie, they whistle, all in tune and in time. I think I read somewhere that they selected whistling instead of the more plausible verbal rendition because they didn't want to distract from the story. Anyway, Be Happy In Your Work!
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