The 1962 Hackett Lectures ‘The Profession of Arms’

Encompassing a series of lectures delivered by the Australian-born British Army officer, General Sir John Winthrop Hackett, GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC, this book emphasizes the relationship of war to our evolution as a society. Hackett served with great distinction in the Second World War – fighting in the Syria-Lebanon campaign; raising and commanding the 4th Parachute Brigade for the Allied Assault on Arnhem in Operation Market Garden; and, escaping a German-held hospital by way of the Dutch underground following severe injury at Arnhem. An officer of prodigious talent and experience, General Hackett’s perceptive observations on professionalism, training, and discipline are essential reading for military leaders and provide a good historical basis upon which to continue building an understanding of the profession of arms.