On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

As a career military officer with an academic background in psychology (bachelors & masters, no doctorate), I was excited to pick this book up. This seemed like something that was right up my alley. I was very disappointed. A small point I want to make right off the bat—The author was a notable psyc......more

Dixon's study of military incompetence deepens the traditional observation that peacetime armies and wartime armies prefer (and promote) very different types of officer. Dixon seeks to give this observation an explanation a basis that is rooted in Freudian psychology. The work appears rather dated i......more

This book is worth reading on several levels. The anecdotes of military incompetence are fascinating and the reasons for failure are well linked in. More importantly anyone who works in a heirarchy (most of us?) should read this book. It explains why those most anxious to increase their status are o......more

Dixon is an engaging and entertaining curmudgeon, who takes a psychological stab at explaining military incompetence. With several years as a bomb defusal specialist in the Royal Engineers before becoming a psychiatrist, Dixon is well suited to write such a study of generalship. Taking the British-c......more

As made clear in the title, Dixon describes instances of stunning military incompetence from the Crimean War through WW II and psychoanalyzes the men responsible as well as the social and institutional cultures in which they existed. The incompetencies are frankly incredible – the consequences in bl......more