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xii Foreword group, and very complex and challenging indeed if one is talking about the collective ­ will of a larger socio-­political-­military and economic enter- prise which could have enough interwoven components of values, beliefs, rules and laws, vital ­ human emotion, and dynamism to send the ­ simple constructs of resolve and determination into a rich stew of conditional and circumstantial vagaries. One may ask: What is the ­ will of our nation in regard to a mortal threat to our sovereign state? It is especially hard to deal with the inherent strength of ­ will when its application may involve the likely death or injury of ­others, or in less dire circumstances, the economic or social failure of another per- son or a group, as a direct effect of the imposition of ­ will. But . . . ​ that is real­ity. It signals the implication—­indeed the absolute fact—­that the expres- sion of ­ will has consequence. Thus, ­ will becomes a power­ful force no ­ matter at what level or in which context it is applied. ­ There are pre­ce­dents and requirements to the viability of ­ will. What one ­ wills must (of necessity) be pos­si­ble. What one ­wills must (perforce) be coherent and cognitively acquirable—­fitting into the crucible of culture and condition. Without ­ these and other themes of legitimacy, an expression of ­ will may merely be a wisp in the wind of imagination or simply a hope or a wish, without real merit. ­These formative ele­ments are impor­tant spe- cifically ­ because without such supporting structure and substance, ­ will may become a malignancy of thought and a forerunner of disaster. In this beautifully written and very well-­researched excursion into the philosophical, and yet the very real, realm of leadership and inspiration, one might find a near-­religious experience. One may also tire of the for- mality of it all and merely come to believe or disbelieve as the ideas and concepts provided herein strike the reader. In the end, it would be hard to deny the capture of the essential logic and the mysterious power of ­ will in the evolution of man, in the development of socie­ties, and in the conduct of events—­like war and like peace. Once again, “Mike” Hall has taken on an existential topic and has seen into its very soul. As the reader wends their way through noteworthy historical reference points, brilliant observations by the greatest of minds, and insights so keen as to be definitive, the reader may also discover the inherent truth of this scholarly effort: ­there is no iron-­clad rendition of volition or ­ will. We must all come to grips with the sure knowledge that to express ­ will, we must assert our belief and describe our intent in clear and uncompromising form. ­ Will is perhaps the classic form of decision, and its nature requires that we give it that recognition and that power. This is another gift from Mike Hall. It is worth noting that will has always been an integral feature of humanity, even if the ­humans at the time ­didn’t fully realize it. Over time, the exercise and expression of ­ will have been affected by many changes in context, especially through the modern phenomena of rapidity, remote access, and technical assistance in perception and understanding. As