It is ironic that Sam Manekshaw, India's first Field Marshal, joined the Army to protest his father's decision to not send him to the United Kingdom for higher studies despite having promised to do so! At the age of 15 having passed his Senior Cambridge with distinction, Dr. Manekshaw felt that Sam was too young to go abroad for higher studies. Having won his Military Cross in Burma where he was critically wounded, Sam Manekshaw was jettisoned into position of great responsibility that provided him deep understanding and education in the conduct of higher command responsibilities. During his career, the Field Marshal displayed exemplary moral courage and stood up to his seniors in position of authority to come into his own without any patronage.

The book outlines his many achievements apart from his steadfastness in the face of adversity, his strength of character and qualities of leadership that distinguished him from the others and set him apart in a class of his own. He was in the Army at a time when turbulent and tumultuous changes were taking place in the Army and the country. It specifically highlights the qualities of leadership of the Field Marshal and has many important lessons for the reader in personal and professional conduct. His ability to relate to human beings of all ages is revealing and worth emulating especially where it pertains to dealings with officers and men in uniform! The one lesson that stands out from his career spanning more than four decades is that what is pre-ordained cannot be changed. Thus validating his belief that," Leaders must also be lucky!"