As long as humankind has recorded the written word, the warrior has been admired as the embodiment of some of the best aspects of human beings. They have demanded and demonstrated the great qualities and possibilities of moral human action such as courage, loyalty, determination and intelligence. Writers of all kinds and natures have recorded the deeds of these great warriors as models of manly behavior and chivalrous ideals. The great names of history are the names of fighters and warriors.

These great warriors lived on the knife edge between life and death, and their pending...