General Richardson's Staff College lectures on Morale have been for many years an integral part of the education of senior British and Commonwealth officers, and few would deny that they owe to him no small measure of their grasp of morale, man-management and the role of the medical profession in warfare. He has now recast his lectures in book form, having been persuaded by many of those he taught that his ideas deserved to be made available to a far wider public.
General Richardson examines morale through the eyes of a doctor and argues that the upkeep or breakdown thereof is a problem which is as much a matter for treatment as a bullet wound or a broken leg. His penetrating analysis of the mutually interdependent aspects of individual morale and esprit de corps is expanded to embrace the wider theme of what he describes as Esprit de NATO. Although based upon conclusions drawn from 30 years' service as an army doctor, General Richardson's arguments are just as applicable to civilian as to military life. Indeed his final chapter deals with the likely effects of atomic warfare upon civilian morale.
The result is a stimulating and lively book which, appearing at a time when national morale has seldom been lower, offers much food for thought to all whose duty it is to have authority over their fellow men, be it in office or factory or in the heat of battle. |
