Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War

1. This book is written by a professional soldier and not a business school professor.
2. This book is one man's account of his duties and opinions on the subject of logistics and is not intended to be a textbook on the subject of logistics or a war novel.

If you understand these two things before you by the book then you will find this book to be very interesting as it is one of the few books written on military logistics. Moreover, you will gain insight into as to how General Pagonis used his personal leadership style to manage the logistical challenges of the first Gulf War. For someone wanting to learn about the nuts and bolts of logistics this book isn't for you. However, for those of you who want to gain an understanding of how logistics can impact the success or failure of a war while picking up a few words of wisdom in leadership from one of the best in the business will enjoy this book. I have read this book twice and I enjoyed it each time. Although I couldn't use much of the material from the book in my MBA classes, I was able to apply some of the information from this book while I was earning a graduate certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Penn State.


A must read for all military personel involved in logistics   December 11, 1999
Patrick J. McCall (Bayonne, N.J. U.S.A.)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The best book to date on military logistics.Explains in detail how the U.S. Army was able to accomplish it's mission in supplying over half a million troops when and where it was needed.Gen.Pagonis has written an excellent guide for officers and NCO's involved in logistics.


Too little on Gulf War logisitcs and challenges   April 2, 2003
David Traill (Stuart, FL United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

From a military history point of view, logisticians get far too little credit for allowing the front line to even exist. Lt. Gen. Pagonis' book does attempt to offer some insight into the challenges of supplying the Army's needs as it built up during Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91, and then through Desert Storm. Very little is said about the withdrawal process of Desert Farewell.

The problems with this book are that it is too much centered around a business school philosophy book- not to take too much away from the success that Pagonis had, but it seems less about the challenges of supply in a hostile environment than a depiction of how to solve problems. I greatly respect the efforts and solutions that Pagonis encountered and defeated, but wish this was more a military-oriented book and less of a business school effort.

Regardless of these issues, Moving Mountains will give a reader some appreciation for all of the tasks and unsung duties by the rear echelon forces in combat, and how the Army has developed its ability to deal with any potential environments it may find itself in the future.


Fascinating read on moving things around the world   April 7, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This truly is a fascinating account of just how the United States military was able to move 500,000 troops and all their equipment halfwar across the world, fight a war, and then bring it all home. The numbers and statistics of the effort are truly stunning.

I am no logisticians and perhaps have missed some of the finer points of leadership as a logistician that this book apparently provides. Nevertheless, it can be an interesting for anyone who is interested in just how the US military works and what a complex organization it really is.

Gen. Pagonis only has one flaw - his ego. He really does talk himself up in this book. If one should trust his account of his military career he singlehandedly saved an entire company from annihilation in Vietnam, preserved the M1 Abrams tank program from Congressional hostility, and then did the entire logistical planning and execution surrounding Desert Storm.

But if one disregards Pagonis ego this is a great book.


Only for practitioners   December 28, 2002
railmeat (Emeryville, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

While the victory in the gulf war of 1991 was obviously an accomplishment, it was perhaps most of all an achievement of logistics. Moving Mountains tells the story of that achievement and of the General who lead it.

The book included a number of biographical references about General Pagonis. Fortunately these are kept brief. Pagonis's life, outside of the military seems to be largely unremarkable. In the military Pagonis reached a high rank. The text provides no clues as to what made him a success as an officer.

Once the text turns to the gulf war it becomes much more absorbing. The descriptions of the early stages of the build up are interesting. So are some of the descriptions of the interactions with a few of his subordinates.

The last chapter is a summary, or list of prescriptions of how to manage. These range from being specific to the military to being so general as to be trite and meaningless. There is nothing in between.

In the end this book was fairly boring. It might be of interest to students of the gulf war, or to those in the military who might face similar situations.