Commanders is a collection of biographies about American generals. It takes a look at American history from the Civil War to the Gulf War by telling the stories of the generals commanding the wars - from Lee to Schwarzkopf.

Written as popular history, each general is individually described. Author Lennart Svensson does everything from telling anecdotes, reflecting on culture, war and history, to musing over operational details, meticulously narrating each general’s story. Commanders provides good stories, well told in the genre of the historical essay. At the end of the book there is also a chapter examining topics such as the mirroring of American wars in literature and film.

As Svensson says in the introduction: these are war stories, told by the fireside with a glass of whisky in the hand.

The study includes the following generals:

Robert E. Lee George G. Meade U. S. Grant Thomas Stonewall Jackson George B. McClellan George A. Custer John J. Pershing George C. Marshall Douglas MacArthur George S. Patton Dwight D. Eisenhower Omar N. Bradley Claire Lee Chennault James H. Doolittle Leslie R. Groves Charles E. Yeager Schwarzkopf