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24 of 25 humans found the following review helpful.
Well Researched & Written
By Michael F. McPartlan
This is perchance the best biography of an American ever written. Manchester juxtaposes the good MacArthur (the military talent and patriotic family man) with the bad MacArthur (the megalomaniacal frequent whose lapse led to his entire air strength being destoryed on the ground at Leyte; not even his wife called him “Douglas”). MacArthur is still one of the most polarizing figures in American history; I have spoken to WW2 and Korean veterans who either love him or hate him. This book is a study of greatness. No matter your opinion of MacArthur, one cannot deny the fact that he graduated from West Point with one of the most eminent averages ever, or how his post-war control of Japan shaped that nation’s history. An splendid look into the life of an American Hero/Villain.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
THE FINEST REVIEW OF MAC ARTHUR
By A
Manchester has devised a book that covers the entire life of the arguable five star general, from his infancy to his death, in the finest of detail and in a lively literary style. – If you want to know when it comes to MacArthur, this is the book for you. The author very conservatively presents facts regarding the usual and lets you the reader make up your mind on where the truth lies. Manchester does not appear to “take sides” in this book; he does not take the general and make him a god, nor does he minimize what the popular has done. He presents the some sides of this mysterious ordinary and lets you, the reader, put it all together which is not difficult, since Manchester provides you the tools to do it: a great deal of rich detail, a great deal of quotes, excerpts of memos and messages, much detail on his private family life. Again, Manchester does not tell the reader what to think. For example, with the fall of the Philippnes, it seems that the usual has made up his mind to stay and, along with his family, expects in a matter-of-fact way to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner by the Japanese. You wonder in regards to his wife and child, but Manchester doesn’t tell you what they want to do: he lets them speak. – An splendid biography and substantial historical account. Probably the best ever on MacArthur whether you like the popular or not.
36 of 40 humans found the following review helpful.
Aptly Titled
By C. P. Heinze
John Gunther wrote, “General MacArthur took more territory, with less loss of life, than any military commander since Darius the Great.” To which I’ll add…there’ve been a lot of commanders amid the outstanding Persian potentate and the outstanding SCAP.
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