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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
Excellent Audiobook which shows the main character as a man with flaws, much ego yet I felt a man of great courage and brilliance and surely one of the greatest Generals in American History. A must for both military and history buffs!
adventurous
informative
adventurous
funny
informative
slow-paced
Outsized personality, perhaps does not give the best balanced portrait to his detractors, but a lively and informative portrait
informative
slow-paced
The contrast between Eisenhower and MacArthur is really interesting, having listened to (although I never finished) Stephen Ambrose's [b:The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower|306540|The Supreme Commander The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Stephen E. Ambrose|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347666208l/306540._SX50_.jpg|297523] right after.
Based on these two accounts it seemed like Eisenhower was an excellent glue guy for his men, and North Africa and the western front - which required unity between the UK, US, and French - may never have been successful without him. I can see why he would make an excellent president.
MacArthur, on the other hand, seemed to make an excellent dictator – in Battle, in Japan, and in the Phillippines – although a horrible policitian. I got some second-hand embarrassment just reading the book. With that said, his antics and cult of personality were traits that pushed his men past where they thought they could go. He accomplished a lot of greatness with his troops. He deserves a lot of respect for that.
What impressed me the most about MacArthur was how he led the reconstruction of Japan. He led our most bitter enemy, economically and socially in complete run, intoto a booming economy and a strong, progressive ally that lives on to this day.
Based on these two accounts it seemed like Eisenhower was an excellent glue guy for his men, and North Africa and the western front - which required unity between the UK, US, and French - may never have been successful without him. I can see why he would make an excellent president.
MacArthur, on the other hand, seemed to make an excellent dictator – in Battle, in Japan, and in the Phillippines – although a horrible policitian. I got some second-hand embarrassment just reading the book. With that said, his antics and cult of personality were traits that pushed his men past where they thought they could go. He accomplished a lot of greatness with his troops. He deserves a lot of respect for that.
What impressed me the most about MacArthur was how he led the reconstruction of Japan. He led our most bitter enemy, economically and socially in complete run, intoto a booming economy and a strong, progressive ally that lives on to this day.
This book is for anyone who loves a good, interesting and captivating biography. I picked this up because I enjoyed the biographer previous Winston Churchill work. I had no inclination to read about MacArthur, but I am so glad I did. I learned so many new things about World War II (which is difficult considering how much I have read about the subject). MacArthur and his family had dedicated their lives to serving. Living in forsaken places, escaping the enemies and taking over hotels. MacArthur was left to defend the Pacific waiting for the European theater to finish after living there for a decade. The military ribbons, medals and power were not enough to contain his ego. In the end I am grateful for people like him who serve, but also understand why Truman had to fire him. I read this book at the ideal time since General McChrystal became the second general (second to MacArthur) to be relieved of duty. Interesting fact: starting from his days at West Point his mother would write rank and file of the military (later to President FDR) asking for her son to get a promotion. She would inquire about the health of family members and a not so subtle plug for her son. No wonder his first marriage happened when he was forty.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
A good biography for me gets thoroughly into the person's times, and not just the details of their life. Also, I prefer biographers to let the person speak for themselves, rather than putting words in their heads.
That said, a biographer needs to sift all the evidence, steering between what the person thought about his or her self and times, and how the world viewed him or her. . . and how that has changed since then.
I avoided this bio for a long time because I found Manchester's medieval book so execrable (sloppy research, all kinds of assumptions with no support, the sneer of the modern for the grunting simpletons of the medieval paradigm) but what a mistake! This book was wonderful.
That said, a biographer needs to sift all the evidence, steering between what the person thought about his or her self and times, and how the world viewed him or her. . . and how that has changed since then.
I avoided this bio for a long time because I found Manchester's medieval book so execrable (sloppy research, all kinds of assumptions with no support, the sneer of the modern for the grunting simpletons of the medieval paradigm) but what a mistake! This book was wonderful.