| Commentarii de Bello Gallico by Julius Caesar By far my favorite example of any individual human's mental (and often physical) toughness. There's a thousand examples where he displayed herculean mental strength in the face over overwhelming situations. Some that come to mind: 1. He took groups of cavalry out on attacks during a heavy winter, letting each group of soldiers take a turn resting, while he went out on every mission. 2. He grabbed a shield an went to the front of the lines when the Nervii were about to slaughter his entire force. Turning the tide in a situation almost no one else could have survived. 3. Instead of giving up the siege of Alesia when a massive relieving army was inbound, he went double or nothing by enclosing himself in a double wall investment. 4. He attacked a beach full of unknown numbers of enemy soldiers with chariots, in D-day style amphibious assault. He did a hundred major things like this in his life, and a thousand minor ones we know about. An excellent audiobook version is available free https://archive.org/details/Commentaries_Gaius_Julius_Caesar |