Overview

Douglas MacArthur was Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific area during World War II. Best remembered for the adaptability that fostered his greatest accomplishments, he led the defence of Australia, and the recapture of New Guinea, the Philippines and Borneo. MacArthur also oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951, the most successful occupation in history, and is credited for making far-ranging democratic changes in that country. Today, MacArthur remains one of the most controversial figures in American history. While greatly admired by many for his strategic and tactical brilliance, MacArthur was also criticized by many for his actions in command, and especially his challenge to President Truman in 1951.

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9781403976581

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A vivid, compelling portrait of our most enigmatic battlefield commander. Richard B. Frank strips away both myth and malarkey to reveal both Douglas MacArthur the general and Douglas MacArthur the man. --Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer prize-winning author of An Army at Dawn: The War In North Africa, 1942-1943 Richard B. Frank's incisive biography of General Douglas MacArthur offers not only a great read, but a timely and useful study both of the dilemmas of civil-military relations and the challenges facing American military leaders thrust onto a global stage. The writing is always clear, the history always accurate, and the analysis consistently stimulating. For all his faults, MacArthur was indisputably a great man among great contemporaries--this book will make the reader ponder the disappearance of such greatness among our nation's leaders, military or civilian. --Ralph Peters, author of New Glory and Never Quit The Fight Douglas MacArthur was either the greatest American military commander of the 20th century--or a dangerous meglomaniac. In this shrewd, fair, but unblinking biogaphy, MacArthur is both- at once-brilliant and deeply flawed and, in Frank's skillful telling, an endlessly fascinating character. Rich Frank has long been a premier historian of the Pacific War. Now he has shown that he is first rank biographer as well. --Evan Thomas, Newsweek editor-at-large and author of Sea of Thunder A classic example of good things in small packages, this addition to the Great Generals Series owes much to its author, an expert on the Pacific War and a particularly accomplished writer. Those attainments allow him to do a remarkable degree of justice to his subject, one ofthe most controversial leaders in American history. From early on, MacArthur, scion of a military family, exhibited great talents and a colossal ego that made it difficult for him to cooperate with either his fellow commanders or his civilian superiors, leading one of the latter, President Truman, to terminate his career during the Korean War. MacArthur's insensitivity to politics didn't, however, prevent him from practicing a high level of statesmanship as military governor of occupied Japan. Frank's portrait of him is that of a man clearly related to the little girl who had a little curl in the middle of her forehead. When he was good, he was indispensable; when he was bad, he made colleagues and superiors think of firing squads. A good addition for any and all twentieth-century American history collections. -- Booklist Frank ( Guardalcanal ) presents the reader with a fair assessment of both the man and the soldier, covering the failures and triumphs in an assured and dispassionate tone. --David Lee Poremba, Haines City P.L., FL His own unique take on this historic figure. -- NewsMax No general in American uniform during World War II was more controversial or more idolized than Douglas MacArthur. It takes a rigidly objective historian and painstakingly careful research to produce a biography of him that is both balanced and accurate. Richard B. Frank has succeeded brilliantly. --Brian John Murphy, America in WWII America is hard on its politicians and generals. Whereas writers and composers are remembered for their creative peaks, and their lesser works are forgiven, politicians are often remembered for their failures, generals for their blunders. Gen. Douglas MacArthurwas long an exception to this rule, for he spent a lifetime burnishing his image and training a staff to do likewise. But history is catching up, and we now have a readable and objective biography by respected World War II historian Richard B. Frank, who is immune to the general's considerable charisma. --John M. Taylor, The Washington Times A classic example of good things in small packages, this addition to the Great Generals Series owes much to its author, an expert on the Pacific War and a particularly accomplished writer. Those attainments allow him to do a remarkable degree of justice to his subject, one of the most controversial leaders in American history...A good addition for any and all twentieth-century American history collections. -- Booklist on MacArthur

In-depth analysis of the enduring paradox of America's most revered five-star insubordinate - an installment of the Great Generals biographical series for which retired General Wesley K. Clark is nominal editor and provides a foreword. Frank (Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, 1999, etc.), who has written commendably on World War II in the Pacific, here offers an intensive dissection of Douglas MacArthur's decisions, good and bad, both as a field general and administrator of the U.S. occupation of Japan. A review of MacArthur's role as the latter is particularly timely given the current failures in Iraq of pacification, democratization and reconstruction - not to force a direct parallel - over which he then successfully presided (although Frank stresses that the overall plan was wholly the Truman administration's). That this is specifically a military biography is illustrated by the relatively sparse treatment - a mere page - given to one of the biggest risks MacArthur ever took: Summoned in 1930 as the Army's new Chief of Staff, he brought from the Philippines a 16-year-old girl named Isabel (he was then 50) and stashed her in Washington for some months until she grew restless and, discovered by a MacArthur media nemesis, columnist Drew Pearson, was paid off to disappear. Frank is, however, candid at length in recounting some of the general's consistent failings, such as blatant self-promotion in communiques (most Americans believed he was outnumbered by Japanese forces in major actions, which was not the case), plus deflecting blame on subordinates while taking credit for their achievements. His operational brilliance, including the leapfrogging strategy in the Western Pacific, which undoubtedly shortened the war, is also well covered. Frank also enumerates cases where MacArthur's insubordinations were, in retrospect, essentially the right move.Admirably punctures the mythology and goes to the wall with an irresolvably complex personality. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

RICHARD B. FRANK is the author of Guadalcanal and Downfall and winner of the General William Greene Award and the Harry S. Truman Book Award. He was an aerorifle platoon leader in the 101st Airbourne Division in the Vietnam War.

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