In all his work Steven Pressfield has depicted his mastery in storytelling and his mysterious ability to bring out his story in a technique that is guides one into the theme of that story. Based on his writing, he is at his best when dealing with classical warfare and his historical research is completely built on all his works. Among his work is “The Virtues of War”. (Pressfield, Steven, 9) In this book he brings out a fascinating olden background, opens Alexander and all the Greeks. His major aim is to show out man’s greatest successes in the conquest.
In the text, Alexander is the speaker and does storytelling to Itanes, his smaller brother-in-law and Page (Pressfield, Steven, 57) Pressfield Alexander imagines his life since he was a boy till date of his success in India during the Hydaspes Battle. The major emphases being brought out are on Alexander the warrior. “I have always been a soldier.” To stress on this, pressfield takes Alexander in at the initial part, “I have known no other life.” Alexander values the life of a warrior more than anything else. As a result, he had little or no interest on politics, administration or unbelievable loot accessible to the conqueror. He clearly shows this has his trait as he shares his riches with his followers and even delegated vital duties to his trusted company (Pressfield, Steven, 66). Alexander depicts traits required for a modern commander. He stresses so much on the intelligence and warfare plan, which he is well conversant with. He believes that no matter how much one prepares for the battle, the key issues are cardia (heart) and dynamis (the will to fight). Such issues as high numbers, weapons, tactics or intelligence are not so much of importance. Based on this assumption he was motivated to attack Persian force. He believed that great prices only are achieved through great hazards. From the story, Alexandria is willing to advice his little knowledge on leadership with his juniors and so is to our current government and military persons (Pressfield, Steven, 116) He argues that a thing that a commander interferes with is the human heart. Based on this argument, it is evident that he motivates on his own men. He further lays down the rules; he says that “An officer must lead from front.” He also put emphasis of leaders putting his men in the forefront all their decision, “I never let the men see me sleep,” he says “I rise before they wake and remain at work when they go to their slumber.” He believes that a commander should acknowledge and respect his soldiers (Pressfield, Steven, 134)
In light of our current environment, this work is very vital for our military. Virtues focuses on the leader, the man who is responsible of all logistic, material, tactics, strategy, morale and each element of war. Based on the information, the commanders should always practice some leadership qualities. The commanders should be in a position to influence their juniors towards their goals. In case of wars, the commanders should usually come up with best strategies eradicate the enemy. Based to the text, it is evident that o achieve it all involves heart and willingness to fight. Another important issue is respect. Currently Americans have tirelessly been involved in fights. Were it not for respect for the juniors, I believe they would have not won these fights. The respect from the seniors and correct command has played a critical part. Additionally, with advanced technology, our military has good means of transport to move from one location to another. Therefore, the Virtues of War has played a very critical role in displaying the requirement of a successful commander. By practicing this, I believe that our military will always winners.
Work Cited
Pressfield, Steven. The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great. New York: Doubleday, 2004. Print.
