The Military 100

April 28, 1997
This 10th military history by retired army officer Lanning (The Military 100, etc.) offers a basic introduction to the legacy of black men and women in our nation's armed forces from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf. Along the way, Lanning introduces a variety of black heroes--men such as Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts, who saved his unit's flags after the failed assault on Fort Wagner during the Civil War (popularized in the movie Glory) and Dorie Miller, a crewman on the USS West Virginia who saved the life of his captain and shot down two Japanese planes during the raid on Pearl Harbor. Lanning also chronicles the extreme prejudice that black soldiers encountered for much of the past 200-plus years--separate (and worse) facilities, community hatred, lynchings, lack of promotions to better duty slots and more. He covers the 1906 Brownsville racial clash--sparked by the open hostility of white Texans against black soldiers, but resulting in the dishonorable discharges of 167 black soldiers--as well as the views of Generals George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur, both of whom looked down on black troops. Ultimately, blacks achieved integration into the American military earlier than into most of the country's institutions. In his illuminating and much-needed history, Lanning graphically depicts the hard struggle toward that goal, and beyond it. Illustrations not seen by PW.

November 4, 1996
More general military history is covered in The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military leaders of All Time, by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Michael Lee Lanning. In the #1 slot, Lanning (Senseless Secrets) places George Washington, not for his military genius but for his role in establishing the U.S. Similarly cogent discussions explain Lanning's choices for the next four slots (Napoleon I, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar) and beyond. Illustrations.

December 1, 1996
Retired Army colonel Lanning (Senseless Secrets, Carol Pub. Group, 1995) gives a new twist on who's who among military leaders. Lanning not only provides concise biographies of his selected 100 military leaders but also takes the bold step of ranking them from one to 100, in the order of their enduring influence on world history. The selected 100 span 15 centuries of warfare, from Attila the Hun (#15) to Norman Schwarzkopf (#49) and include both heroes and villains, innovators and heretics. Hitler is ranked rather high at #14, while Kim Il Sung is a lowly #86. As expected, George Washington is ranked first on the list; lone female, Joan of Arc, is #43. This is a grand list, filled with the famous and infamous and even some obscure men like Lennart Torstensson and Thomas Cochrane. As a clever approach to military history, this is recommended for the general reader.--Col. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Harpswell, Me.

December 1, 1996
Retired infantryman Lanning, author of several books on Vietnam, now tackles a wider canvas--all of history--to survey and rank the 100 most influential military figures. His criteria for inclusion measure not only battlefield prowess but also the long-term consequences of the specific leader's actions for the world, by which criteria George Washington outstrips Napoleon, and both Saddam Hussein and Adolph Hitler find places on the list. The biographies themselves are definitely capsule but definitely sound, balanced, well researched, and clear. Every reader will find at least one "non"favorite among the top 100 and the 50 honorable mentions and at least one favorite left out. But as an intelligent soldier-historian's roster of the movers and shakers of warfare, this book itself ranks high and will find readers in virtually any collection that includes it. ((Reviewed December 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)