God's Generals: The Military Lives of Moses, the Buddha, and Muhammad

Examines how the military experience of three religious founders shaped their spiritual legacy.

It is one of the more startling facts of military history that the founders of three of the four “great religions”—Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam—were also accomplished field generals with extensive experience in commanding men in battle. One of these, Muhammad, fought eight battles and was wounded twice, once almost fatally. Another, Siddhartha Gautama (later to become the Buddha), witnessed so muc...