Rag,
Who should I believe the review of Gary Mead the noted Historian or the professor Keith A of Hertford.

Gary Mead calls himself a journalist.http://www.jerichochambers.com/who/gary-mead/ and I have not disagreed with him.

The myth the reviewer was referring to was that because they slept and had their offices away from the fighting, that they were out of touch.
Historian Dan Snow says of WW1 British generals,
"During the war more than 200 generals were killed, wounded or captured. Most visited the front lines every day. In battle they were considerably closer to the action than generals are today."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25776836