Recounting his boyhood years in New Jersey, during the Second World War, and his unique adolescence spent in the Middle East and Europe that would later prove invaluable, the author offers a frank account of his life at West Point and his early disillusionment with the 'real' Army that nearly prompted him to leave the military.

In this remarkable autobiography, Norman Schwarzkopf recounts his boyhood years in New Jersey, during the Second World War, and his unique adolescence spent in the Middle East and Europe that would later prove invaluable. Here, too, is a frank account of his life at West Point and his early disillusionment with the 'real' Army that nearly prompted him to leave the military.

General Schwarzkopf speaks openly about his tours of duty in Vietnam, his assignments in Washington and his sometimes uneasy relationship with the Pentagon. He provides inspiring thoughts on leadership and reveals the events behind Desert Shield/Desert Storm, including candid portraits of Colin Powell, Richard Cheney and President George Bush. We experience first hand the complexities of coordinating the campaign, of maintaining strategic secrecy during the world's first internationally televised war, and of the sunsitive negotiations with Israel and Saudi Arabia.

It Doesn't Take A Hero is an intensely personal portrait of an American life forged from strongly held ideals tested in the cauldron of war - the triumphant journey of a soldier who set his star by a simple but timeless motto: duty, honour and country.