Go to Hachette Book Group home

Search

Site Preferences

Show prices in:

Promotion

Use code BESTBOOKS24 for 25% off sitewide + free shipping over $35

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Norman F. Dixon

Formats and Prices

Price

$15.99

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $15.99
  2. Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $38.99
  3. Trade Paperback $22.99

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around May 31, 2016. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Also available from:

A classic study of military leadership uncovering why generals fail

The Crimea, the Boer War, the Somme, Tobruk, Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs: these are just some of the milestones in a century of military incompetence, of costly mishaps and tragic blunders. Are these simple accidents—as the "bloody fool" theory has it—or are they inevitable?

The psychologist Norman F. Dixon argues that there is a pattern to inept generalship, and he locates this pattern within the very act of creating armies in the first place, which in his view produces a levelling down of human capability that encourages the mediocre and limits the gifted. In this light, successful generals achieve what they do despite the stultifying features of the organization to which they belong.

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence is at once an original exploration of the battles that have defined the last two centuries of human civilization and an essential guide for the next generation of military leaders.

Genre:

On Sale
May 31, 2016
Page Count
528 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780465097814

You May Also Like

The End of Everything
The End of Everything $32.00 $41.00 CAD
The Book at War
The Book at War $35.00 $45.00 CAD
Bismarck’s War
Bismarck’s War $35.00 $44.00 CAD
Those Who Have Borne the Battle
Those Who Have Borne the Battle $21.99 $28.99 CAD
World War Two
World War Two $25.00 $28.00 CAD

Norman F. Dixon

About the Author

Dr. Norman F. Dixon, M.B.E., Fellow of the British Psychological Society, was Professor Emeritus of Psychology at University College London. After ten years’ commission in the Royal Engineers, during which time he was wounded (“largely through my own incompetence”), Dixon left the Army in 1950 and entered university where he obtained a first-class degree in Psychology. He received the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in 1956 and Doctor of Science in 1972, and in 1974 was awarded the University of London Carpenter Medal “for work of exceptional distinction in Experimental Psychology”.

Learn more about this author