15 Stars

15 Stars PDF Author: Stanley Weintraub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 141654593X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
The sweeping and dramatic story of America's three great five-star generals, who steered America to victory through World War II and shaped the decade that followed, while jockeying against and helping one another as patrons, bosses, friends, and rivals. In the closing days of World War II, America looked up to three five-star generals as its greatest heroes. George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur personified victory, from the Pentagon to Normandy to the Far East. Counterparts and on occasion competitors, they had leapfrogged each other, sometimes stonewalled each other, even supported and protected each other throughout their celebrated careers. In the public mind they stood for glamour, integrity, and competence. But for dramatic twists of circumstance, all three—rather than only one—might have occupied the White House. The story of their interconnected lives opens a fascinating window onto some of the twentieth century's most crucial events, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing how much of a difference three men can make. Marshall and MacArthur were contemporaries and competitors. Eisenhower was MacArthur's underling, then Marshall's deputy, before becoming MacArthur's counterpart as a supreme commander, Ike in Western Europe, MacArthur in the Pacific. Each of the three five-star generals would go on to extraordinary postwar careers: MacArthur as a virtual viceroy of Japan, overseeing its transition to a new constitutional democracy, and then leading the UN forces in the Korean War; Marshall as secretary of state, author of the Marshall Plan, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Eisenhower as president. Fifteen Stars presents the intertwined lives of these three great men against the sweeping background of six unforgettable decades, from two world wars to the Cold War. It is history at its most dramatic yet most personal—a triumph for Stanley Weintraub, our preeminent military historian.

15 Stars

15 Stars PDF Author: Stanley Weintraub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 141654593X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
The sweeping and dramatic story of America's three great five-star generals, who steered America to victory through World War II and shaped the decade that followed, while jockeying against and helping one another as patrons, bosses, friends, and rivals. In the closing days of World War II, America looked up to three five-star generals as its greatest heroes. George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur personified victory, from the Pentagon to Normandy to the Far East. Counterparts and on occasion competitors, they had leapfrogged each other, sometimes stonewalled each other, even supported and protected each other throughout their celebrated careers. In the public mind they stood for glamour, integrity, and competence. But for dramatic twists of circumstance, all three—rather than only one—might have occupied the White House. The story of their interconnected lives opens a fascinating window onto some of the twentieth century's most crucial events, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing how much of a difference three men can make. Marshall and MacArthur were contemporaries and competitors. Eisenhower was MacArthur's underling, then Marshall's deputy, before becoming MacArthur's counterpart as a supreme commander, Ike in Western Europe, MacArthur in the Pacific. Each of the three five-star generals would go on to extraordinary postwar careers: MacArthur as a virtual viceroy of Japan, overseeing its transition to a new constitutional democracy, and then leading the UN forces in the Korean War; Marshall as secretary of state, author of the Marshall Plan, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Eisenhower as president. Fifteen Stars presents the intertwined lives of these three great men against the sweeping background of six unforgettable decades, from two world wars to the Cold War. It is history at its most dramatic yet most personal—a triumph for Stanley Weintraub, our preeminent military historian.

Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur PDF Author: Arthur Herman
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812985109
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 978

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Book Description
A new, definitive life of an American icon, the visionary general who led American forces through three wars and foresaw his nation’s great geopolitical shift toward the Pacific Rim—from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of Gandhi & Churchill Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of America’s most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank? Drawing on a wealth of new sources, Arthur Herman delivers a powerhouse biography that peels back the layers of myth—both good and bad—and exposes the marrow of the man beneath. MacArthur’s life spans the emergence of the United States Army as a global fighting force. Its history is to a great degree his story. The son of a Civil War hero, he led American troops in three monumental conflicts—World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Born four years after Little Bighorn, he died just as American forces began deploying in Vietnam. Herman’s magisterial book spans the full arc of MacArthur’s journey, from his elevation to major general at thirty-eight through his tenure as superintendent of West Point, field marshal of the Philippines, supreme ruler of postwar Japan, and beyond. More than any previous biographer, Herman shows how MacArthur’s strategic vision helped shape several decades of U.S. foreign policy. Alone among his peers, he foresaw the shift away from Europe, becoming the prophet of America’s destiny in the Pacific Rim. Here, too, is a vivid portrait of a man whose grandiose vision of his own destiny won him enemies as well as acolytes. MacArthur was one of the first military heroes to cultivate his own public persona—the swashbuckling commander outfitted with Ray-Ban sunglasses, riding crop, and corncob pipe. Repeatedly spared from being killed in battle—his soldiers nicknamed him “Bullet Proof”—he had a strong sense of divine mission. “Mac” was a man possessed, in the words of one of his contemporaries, of a “supreme and almost mystical faith that he could not fail.” Yet when he did, it was on an epic scale. His willingness to defy both civilian and military authority was, Herman shows, a lifelong trait—and it would become his undoing. Tellingly, MacArthur once observed, “Sometimes it is the order one disobeys that makes one famous.” To capture the life of such an outsize figure in one volume is no small achievement. With Douglas MacArthur, Arthur Herman has set a new standard for untangling the legacy of this American legend. Praise for Douglas MacArthur “This is revisionist history at its best and, hopefully, will reopen a debate about the judgment of history and MacArthur’s place in history.”—New York Journal of Books “Unfailingly evocative . . . close to an epic . . . More than a biography, it is a tale of a time in the past almost impossible to contemplate today as having taken place, with MacArthur himself as a figure perhaps too remote to understand, but all the more important to encounter.”—The New Criterion “With Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior, the prolific and talented historian Arthur Herman has delivered an expertly rendered, compulsively readable account that does full justice to MacArthur’s monumental achievements without slighting his equally monumental flaws.”—Commentary

Capital of the American Century

Capital of the American Century PDF Author: Martin Shefter
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610444973
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Capital of the American Century investigates the remarkable influence that New York City has exercised over the economy, politics, and culture of the nation throughout much of the twentieth century. New York's power base of corporations, banks, law firms, labor unions, artists and intellectuals has played a critical role in shaping areas as varied as American popular culture, the nation's political doctrines, and the international capitalist economy. If the city has lost its unique prominence in recent decades, the decline has been largely—and ironically—a result of the successful dispersion of its cosmopolitan values. The original essays in Capital of the American Century offer objective and intriguing analyses of New York City as a source of innovation in many domains of American life. Postwar liberalism and modernism were advanced by a Jewish and WASP coalition centered in New York's charitable foundations, communications media, and political organizations, while Wall Street lawyers and bankers played a central role in fashioning national security policies. New York's preeminence as a cultural capital was embodied in literary and social criticism by the "New York intellectuals," in the fine arts by the school of Abstract Expressionism, and in popular culture by Broadway musicals. American business was dominated by New York, where the nation's major banks and financial markets and its largest corporations were headquartered. In exploring New York's influence, the contributors also assess the larger social and economic conditions that made it possible for a single city to exert such power. New York's decline in recent decades stems not only from its own fiscal crisis, but also from the increased diffusion of industrial, cultural, and political hubs throughout the nation. Yet the city has taken on vital new roles that, on the eve of the twenty-first century, reflect an increasingly global era: it is the center of U.S. foreign trade and the international art market: The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have emerged as international newspapers; and the city retains a crucial influence in information-intensive sectors such as corporate law, accounting, management consulting, and advertising. Capital of the American Century provides a fresh link between the study of cities and the analysis of national and international affairs. It is a book that enriches our historical sense of contemporary urban issues and our understanding of modern culture, economy, and politics.

MacArthur's War

MacArthur's War PDF Author: Bevin Alexander
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 9780425261200
Category : Civil-military relations
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Douglas MacArthur famously said there is no substitute for victory . . . As a United States general, he had an unparalleled genius for military strategy, and it was under his leadership that Japan was rebuilt into a democratic ally after World War II. But MacArthur carried out his zero-sum philosophy both on and off the battlefield. During the Korean War, in defiance of President Harry S. Truman and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he pushed for an aggressive confrontation with Communist China - a position intended to provoke a wider war, regardless of the cost or consequences. MacArthur's ambition to stamp out Communism across the globe was in direct opposition to President Truman, who was much more concerned with containing the Soviet Union than confronting Red China. The infamous clash between the two leaders was not only an epic turning point in history, but the ultimate struggle between civil and military power in the United States. While other U.S. generals have challenged presidential authority - from Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War and George B. McClellan in the Civil War to General Stanley A. McChrystal in Afghanistan - no other military leader has ever so brazenly attempted to dictate national policy. In MacArthur's War, Bevin Alexander details MacArthur's military and political battles, from the alliances he made with Republican leaders to the threatening ultimatum he delivered to China against orders - the action that directly led to his dismissal on April 11, 1951. 'Bevin Alexander's MacArthur's Waris a superbly written, blow-by-blow account of the most controversial civil-military clash in American history. His riveting narrative pulls no punches as it reveals how the feisty U.S. president confronted America's most revered military hero against the backdrop of brutal Korean War combat.' Colonel Jerry D. Morelock, PhD, U.S. Army (Ret.), and editor in chief of Armchair General 'When President Harry Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of all his military commands at the height of the Korean War, it was a seminal moment in American history . . . Bevin Alexander's hard-hitting narrative captures in vivid detail the elements of that contest, as well as the chain of significant events that produced it . . . MacArthur's Waris a valuable account of a chapter in the Cold War that we must never forget.' Harry J. Middleton, founding director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library at the University of Texas, and author of LBJ- The White House Years 'Bevin Alexander has written a stirring and insightful account of General Douglas MacArthur's controversial role in the Korean War that culminated . . . Carlo D'Este, author of Patton- A Genius for War 'The last sentence of the introduction of MacArthur's War provides author Bevin Alexander's contention that 'Truman, in his quiet and unassuming way, saved the United States of America.' Thereafter the chapters build a very interesting account of Douglas MacArthur's initial brilliant Inchon assault, his strategy and tactics that led to rapid advances before his concepts for capturing and freeing North Korea collapsed in defeat, and finally his resort to political confrontation with the president. How and why he lost, tarnished his reputation, and justified the sweeping observation of Truman's impact is a fascinating, factual, and well-documented study. It is blunt, harsh, and critical of MacArthur's last year of service, more tolerant and understanding of Truman, but overall, a fair portrayal of history.' Generl Frederick J. Kroesen, former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army and commander in chief, U.S. Army Europe Includes Photographs

Korea

Korea PDF Author: Michael Pembroke
Publisher: ONEWorld Publications
ISBN: 9781786074737
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Why the Korean peninsula has become the nuclear flashpoint it is today, and how the 1950-3 war marked the beginning of the American century

MacArthur at War

MacArthur at War PDF Author: Walter R. Borneman
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316405310
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 697

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Book Description
The definitive account of General Douglas MacArthur's rise during World War II, from the author of the bestseller The Admirals. World War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at War will go deeper into this transformative period of his life than previous biographies, drilling into the military strategy that Walter R. Borneman is so skilled at conveying, and exploring how personality and ego translate into military successes and failures. Architect of stunning triumphs and inexplicable defeats, General MacArthur is the most intriguing military leader of the twentieth century. There was never any middle ground with MacArthur. This in-depth study of the most critical period of his career shows how his influence spread far beyond the war-torn Pacific. A Finalist for the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History at the New York Historical Society

Trump and MacArthur

Trump and MacArthur PDF Author: James Ellman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description
Douglas MacArthur ascended to the pinnacle of power at the inception of the American Century when his nation established itself as the world's preeminent superpower. Donald Trump's turn came at what appears to be the end of US dominance as we turn inwards and relinquish the mantle of global hegemon to the rising power of China. These two men have arguably inspired both greater adoration and more visceral antipathy than any other pair of Americans. Their long uneven climb to power and rapid fall from grace informs us not only about the weaknesses and strengths of the nation's constitutional system, but also that of ourselves as a people. . . The more one studies MacArthur and Trump, the more their remarkable similarities of ego, fate and path to power shine through.The parallels in their rise and fall reflect the peculiarities of the American Experiment and the nation's belief in its exceptionalism. It should be of no surprise that General MacArthur thought he should be president and President Trump has often referred to MacArthur as his favorite general. Both men rode waves of historical luck and self-promotion to great heights of power, challenged the nation's constitutional order and engendered utter devotion or loathing from millions of Americans.

Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur PDF Author: Russell D. Buhite
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742544260
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Buhite offers a trenchant evaluation of Douglas MacArthur's career in East Asia and his role in some of the most important military and diplomatic issues of the twentieth century. Concise and highly readable, this biography of one of the most influential and controversial agents of American foreign and military policy considers diplomatic fact in light of psychological insight. A must read for those interested in diplomatic and military history.

The Wise Men

The Wise Men PDF Author: Walter Isaacson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684837714
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 852

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Book Description
A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces the original best and brightest, leaders whose outsized personalities and actions brought order to postwar chaos: Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt's special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation's most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.

The Most Dangerous Man in America

The Most Dangerous Man in America PDF Author: Mark Perry
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465080677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
At times, even his admirers seemed unsure of what to do with General Douglas MacArthur. Imperious, headstrong, and vain, MacArthur matched an undeniable military genius with a massive ego and a rebellious streak that often seemed to destine him for the dustbin of history. Yet despite his flaws, MacArthur is remembered as a brilliant commander whose combined-arms operation in the Pacific -- the first in the history of warfare -- secured America's triumph in World War II and changed the course of history. In The Most Dangerous Man in America, celebrated historian Mark Perry examines how this paradox of a man overcame personal and professional challenges to lead his countrymen in their darkest hour. As Perry shows, Franklin Roosevelt and a handful of MacArthur's subordinates made this feat possible, taming MacArthur, making him useful, and finally making him victorious. A gripping, authoritative biography of the Pacific Theater's most celebrated and misunderstood commander, The Most Dangerous Man in America reveals the secrets of Douglas MacArthur's success -- and the incredible efforts of the men who made it possible.