MacArthur

Great Generals

by Richard B. Frank, Wesley K. Clark (Foreword)

Douglas MacArthur is best remembered for his adaptability that hoisted him to his greatest accomplishments. Adaptability now reigns as the most indispensable trait for high military leadership in an era of technological leaps that guarantee the nature of war will radically change during the span of an ordinary career. No American figure better exemplifies this trait than the man who was commissioned before the Wright Brothers' first flight but became a keen exponent of an entirely new dimension in warfare. He was also in charge of the US occupation of Japan, the most successful occupation in history.

Genres: Biography, History, World War II, Military History, American History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Richard B. Frank is an American lawyer and military historian.
Born in Kansas, Frank graduated from the University of Missouri in 1969, after which he served four years in the United States Army. During the Vietnam War, he served a tour of duty as a platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division. In 1976, he graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Reviews

[Mike Kershaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent survey of an extremely controversial character in American Miliary History. Richard B. Frank, author of "Guadalcanal" and "Downfall", two excellent histories concerning the Pacific War, offers us an attempt to objectively consider MacArthur's Generalship. At less than 200 pages, it's a quick read and although he references much of which has been written about the General, this work stands on it's own. Frank places MacArthur within the American political setting, which gets much attention but more importantly within the inner political dynamics of the American Officer Corps and it's General Officer Corps in particular. He characterizes MacArthur's view of America's role in the Pacific as out of step with his contemporaries who not only followed but believed in the "Europe First" strategy but also gives credit to his considerable vision -- in modernizing the Military Academy, laying the groundwork for the Army as Chief of Staff in the meger inner war years and his most notable accomplishment, the rebuilding of Japan. He highlights MacArthur's achievements, missteps and where he proved adaptable, in spite of his advanced age. Many of MacArthur's successes, he points out, were more of adaptability than of genuis -- his 'island hopping campaign', to include the innovative employment of airpower that characterized his campaign in the Southwest Pacific. Interstingly, he attributes his longevity in part to his attention to a robust physical culture -- well known amongst his peers apparently -- which allowed his service to span multiple conflicts. I'd encourage this book for anyone who has strong feelings, one way or another, on this leader.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I’ve recently read several books in this Great Generals Series. I like the layout of the books, and they have just about the right amount of detail for me; I like to know about people’s lives but don’t always need a 600+ page dissertation.

MacArthur’s life and personality made for an interesting read, and Frank’s writing was easy to follow. However, the entire final chapter of the book was devoted to how MacArthur would have viewed all major foreign policy since his death. And it wasn’t even couched in terms of “perhaps MacArthur would have…” Nope, the author would say things like, “MacArthur would most certainly have disagree with the handling of…” and it just really annoyed me that this random dude thinks that he has the right to make MacArthur’s decisions for him.

Anyway. Otherwise a good read.

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay once over lightly.

[Susan Stearns · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of information about MacArthur and the battles. The audiobook was hard to follow with all of the information and the narrator spoke rapidly.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather well written when you consider how short a work this is (200 pages) versus the epic that is American Ceaser.

However, in this short biography, the author does provide an excellent overview of MacArthur's career and personality. He provides some especially interesting insight into the following topics:

--The Bonus Marchers incident
--The Chinese decision to enter the Korean War
--The development of MacArthur's Island hopping strategy in WWII
--MacArthur's time as post-War leader of Japan.

The author also does a good job of discussing MacArthur's character traits that had such an influence (sense of destiny, importance of appearance) as well as an interesting take on why MacArthur was a great general (not necessarily a brilliant, imaginative tactician, but rather an ability to rapidly adapt new concepts/ideas and learn from mistakes as well as adopt the ideas of others--examples include recognizing the importance of air power, realizing mistake in not give primacy to logistics, and adopting the bypass strategy that apparently was developed by ADM. Hallsey.

The one critcism, I have with the book is the last chapter which includes a section where the author attempts to give MacArthur's opinion on events since his death from US involvement in Vietnam to the War on Terror. While this would be an interesting topic for a lengthy essay, the author does not give his ideas enough support, so it just comes across as rather broad speculation.

Overall a good read, not bad companion to American Ceaser.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did a great job of covering a long and eventful lifetime without being either a fawning fan or a rabid detractor. General MacArthur was a multi-faceted personality with his share of weak points, but he also was a man who accomplished great feats of bravery in war and wise diplomacy in peacetime.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed to be a fair and balanced look at MacArthur's life, a complex individual for certain. Much less critical of the view of the General one gets from Davis Halbertam's "The Coldest Winter", which discusses MacArthur during the Korean War. You get a sense from reading Richard Frank's book that like most of us, there are the good sides and the bad, and with someone in a leadership position such as General MacArthur's, it's inevitable that he'll have his serious detractors as well as his staunch supporters,and the real person probably incorporates parts of both.

[Vishakh Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good account of a controversial figure. Definitely gives you food for thought. A great military mind and yet so egoistic. It has left me conflicted.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have known not to expect too much from this book when I saw the foreword was by Gen. W. Clark. While Frank pays tribute to some of MacArthur's gifts, it is mainly a rehash of well-known criticisms and makes no attempt to examine the motives and methods of his detractors. It is woefully lacking in original insight into the motivation of a man much more complex than he is conventionally portrayed.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know many details of General MacArthur's military career before reading this book. The author does a nice job of giving the reader a good understanding of the battles he led in WWI, WWII, the Phillipines, and Korea without getting into too much detail. My guess is that Frank leans left politically with some of his treatment and comments about MacArthur. Overall, I thought it was a mostly fair review of this great man.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good biography about an iconic leader in American history. This book was a good survey of his military and civilian life; though not too much on the latter. I was looking for an insightful discussion of MacArthur's life. There were several battle scenes, which are distracting but, I suppose, necessary to outline that. The author does a good job of discussing McArthur's character and his outstanding intellect. These all played a role in his enigmatic life

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of MacArthur.