Marshall: Lessons in Leadership

Great Generals

by H. Paul Jeffers, Alan Axelrod, Wesley K. Clark (Foreword)

The gripping story of the only military commander in American history to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. General George C. Marshall was a skillful and compassionate leader with a unique legacy. He never fired a shot during WWII and led no troops into battle—his brilliance was purely strategic and diplomatic, and incredibly effective. He was responsible for the building, supplying, and, in part, the deployment of over eight million soldiers. In 1947, as Secretary of State, he created the Marshall Plan, a sweeping economic recovery effort that pulled the war-shattered European nations out of ruin, and gave impetus to NATO and the European Common Market. It was for the Marshall Plan that he won the Nobel Peace Prize—the only time in history a military commander has ever been awarded this honor. H. Paul Jeffers and Alan Axelrod shows Marshall's skilled combination of military strategy and politics, his emphasis on planning as well as execution, and expertise in nation-building holds lessons for military and civilian leaders today.

Genres: Biography, Leadership, Nonfiction

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2010

About the author

H. Paul Jeffers was an established military historian and author of seventy books. He worked as an editor and producer at ABC, CBS and NBC, and is the only person to have been news director of both of New York City's all-news radio stations. He taught journalism at New York University, Syracuse University, and Boston University.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book is “Marshall” (2010©), written by H. Paul Jeffers with Alan Axelrod. This book is one of the “Great General Series” about “Lessons In Leadership“. The book traces the life and legacy of General George C. Marshall. Marshall is probably the greatest strategic, diplomatic and effective logistician America has ever produced. In addition to being the top non-civilian commander throughout World War II, he was also the prime architect of the rebuilding of Europe and Japan after the war. For his plan (the “Marshall Plan“), General Marshal, who was then U.S. Secretary of State was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. He remains the only military commander to have been awarded the Peace Prize.

What follows is a mixed review. That is because this is a very good book about a great man, however, I struggle to describe anything which makes it useful as a lesson in leadership. General Marshall was an extremely private man, so merely tracing his life does little to provide insight into how he became a leader or what he considered in making his decisions. One is left with simply observing the decisions and actions and attempting to derive the leadership lessons from the observations. For some, this is more than enough. For the General, I do not get this sense.

What is the reader left with then? (This is redundant…) A very private, dedicated man striving to achieve personal excellence in order to protect his nation; a man who returns to service for his country despite the petty attacks from those who are unfit to polish his shoes (Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin); and, a man who is the ultimate logistical problem solver at a global scale. It’s too bad there wasn’t more information on how he did things or the what he thought about things before deciding to do them. This is the second book I’ve read (recently) on the General, and unfortunately, I don’t believe there is any such work. I already own another biography (so far, unread) on Marshall and am contemplating purchasing the four volume “Forrest Pogue” set which is considered the definitive version. Why? Because the idea of such a great leader and also such a great American … fascinates me!! Again, a very good read and highly recommended!

[Steve Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary of the life and career of one of the first of the 'Modern' Generals. While he had limited opportunities to command troops, he was a master logician and handled political and diplomatic aspects of war in a consumate way. Reading this book reminded me of the life of Ulysses Grant.

The book also covers Marshall's post war career as a diplomat, Secretary of State ( including details on his vision for post war reconstruction in Europe, given the name 'The Marshall Plan'), Secretary of Defense and Nobel Peace prize winner.

[Nick Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I wanted to give this book four stars, but it was rife with spelling and grammatical errors. The story presented, however, was interesting, and the analysis was superb.

[Ben Prill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great brief on GCM

This is a short and easy read. The author did an excellent job staying on Marshall when he could have easily gone off track. Great comprehensive war up.