Written during Subianto’s term as
Minister of Defense, the work is structured in two volumes. The first volume presents portraits of influential military figures and formative personalities who inspired Subianto during his career—comrades, superiors, and Indonesian national heroes such as
Kertanegara,
Gajah Mada, Prince
Diponegoro,
Sukarno, and General
Sudirman. Subianto recounts his own military experiences, from his early days as a lieutenant to leading
special forces units and eventually serving as defense minister. The chapters also reveal lesser-known episodes from
Indonesian military history. The second volume offers a comparative analysis of prominent leaders across different eras and cultures, including
Julius Caesar,
Alexander the Great,
Sunzi,
Salahuddin al-Ayyubi,
Genghis Khan,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
Simón Bolívar,
Zhu De,
Emiliano Zapata,
Võ Nguyên Giáp,
George Washington,
Nelson Mandela, and Russian and Soviet commanders such as
Mikhail Kutuzov,
Georgy Zhukov, and
Konstantin Rokossovsky. Subianto examines leadership principles, character traits, and moral attitudes that, in his view, legitimize military authority. The book also reflects on flawed and destructive models of leadership. About the Chinese military strategist
Marshal Zhu De (1886–1976) it was said, for example (in English translation):What I admire most about Zhu is his contribution to
guerrilla warfare theory. Although
Mao often receives more praise for this, it was actually Zhu who had the military education and experience needed to conduct guerrilla warfare. It was this background that Zhu used to lead the
CCP’s unconventional war. The strategy implemented by Zhu inspired and was followed by dozens of guerrilla movements from the second half of the 20th century to the present. == Themes and Style ==