By Michael Haskew - West Point 1915: Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fel (2014-11-01) [Hardcover]

by Michael E. Haskew

West Point’s Class of 1915 is the academy’s most important in history. The cadets of the United States Military Academy, West Point, are intimately twined with the country’s history. The graduating class of 1915, the class the stars fell on, was particularly noteworthy. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36%) attained the rank of general, the most of any class in. Although Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, both five-star generals, are the most recognizable, other class members contributed significantly to the Allied victory in World War I, World War II and played key roles either in the post-war U.S. military establishment or in business and industry after World War II, especially in the Korean War and the formation of NATO. For more than half a century, these men exerted tremendous influence on the shaping of modern America, which remains substantial to this day. Individually, the stories of these military and political leaders are noteworthy. Collectively, they are astonishing. West Point, 1915 explores the achievements of this remarkable group.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, World War II, Biography, Military History, War

Hardcover

First published October 17, 2014

About the author

Michael E. Haskew is the editor of WWII History Magazine and the former editor of World War II Magazine . He is the author of a number of books, including The Sniper at War and Order of Battle. Haskew is also the editor of The World War II Desk Reference with the Eisenhower Center for American Studies. He lives in Hixson, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Class the Stars Fell On” named this because 59 of its 164 (36%) graduates attained the rank of brigadier general or higher, the most of any class in the history of West Point. The class that held this title prior to the 1915 class was the class of 1886 which had 32% of its graduate obtain a general’s rank; most notable were Pershing, Menoher and Patrick. Of the class of 1915 two obtained the rank of five-star generals, two became (four star) generals and seven (three star) Lieutenant generals, twenty-four (two star) major generals and twenty-four (one star) brigadier generals and one became the president of the United States. This class did have the advantage of two world wars and the Korean War which allowed fast advancement.

Haskew provides some information about George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur and how they effected these graduates. Haskew only covers a few of the most famous members of this class of 1915 such as Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, Stafford Irwin, Hubert Harmon, Roscoe Woodruff, and Joseph McNarney to name a few. The author also provided more information about Luis R. Esteves who was the first member of the class to obtain the rank of brigadier general. Esteves was also the first Puerto Rican to graduate from West Point. Haskew also provides an overview history of West Point.

The book is well written and researched. The book is moderately short at seven and a half hours long so the information provided is abbreviated. For those interested in military history, the book does provide a good overview of some key people and provides a launching point for those seeking more in-depth information about key generals.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Tom Zingarelli does a good job narrating the book. Zingarelli is an actor, voice-over artist and award-winning audiobook narrator. Zingarelli is famous as the voice of Maurice the Mouse.

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book for me is a big miss. Probably half the book cover Eisenhower and Bradley, a quarter McNarney and Van Fleet and the rest all the others in the class. The book only gives 2 or 3 paragraphs to other members of the class and could have been a 5-star book had it dedicated more to some of these great generals and men of the 1915 West Point class. Overall a disappointing book after reading "West Point '41" and "The Long Gray Line" (West Point 1966) before this.

[Hayley Hasik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a hot mess. I had hoped it would be more comprehensive about the class of 1915. The heavy emphasis was on Eisenhower and Bradley with other class members getting a few paragraphs or maybe a few pages. The flow was awkward and clunky and it didn't really conclude or reveal anything special about the class of 1915.

[LindaJ^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The West Point class of 1915 had a large number of graduates to reach the rank of general, including the, as of 2017, last five-star generals. There were 2 five-star generals in the class -- Omar Bradley and Dwight David Eisenhower. The two five stars get the most attention but the rest of the generals and a number of other graduates are at least mentioned. About 50% of those who started at West Point in the class of 1915 did not last -- one of the highest drop out rates of any West Point class. So it was not only the most "starred" but also one of the weakest to start. Some of the graduates saw active duty in Europe during WWI and many were in WWII, with a number being recalled to active duty for WWII. Bradley nor Eisenhower were in top half of their class academically and both played sports. Bother were from low to middle class families and a bit of luck was involved in their getting into the academy. The book was well researched but at times was repetitive in providing the facts concerning the various graduates. For some reason, each graduate was always identified with his class rank.

[David Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

West Point 1915 is a fun, easy read, offering a lot of entertaining anecdotes about Eisenhower, Bradley and the other graduates of West Point's class of 1915. In West Point 1915, author Michael Haskew does a fine job of weaving the stories of the better known, lesser known, and unknown officers to emerge from the US Military Academy just before the American entry into WWI, and takes us from the United States' conflict with Mexico, the Great War, WWII, and beyond. Students of military history will not find much that they do not already know, but they will find an enjoyable reminiscence for an afternoon's idle.

[Rob McFarren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter was interesting and the book is well researched. Despite the research, however it is a historical survey that is not very compelling narrative and often just revolves through a paragraph or two on different classmates and their records during the period.

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good premise, bad writing.

[Patrick O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good guidebook to this most interesting Academy class. Not much narrative drive.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brief overview of the WP class of 1915 that concentrates on Eisenhower, Bradley, and Van Fleet. There were some funny stories about their time at the Academy, but the book was too broad for me.

[Pduit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical read. It was more than I expected. I thought it was just going to cover the 4 years at West Point but instead, it covered all the students that graduated in the Class of 1915. It provided the history of most of the students, starting with their childhood , some family history of legacy members, through to the passing of the last graduate from the class of 1915. It was laid out well and reminded me of The Generals by Thomas E. Ricks.

Highly recommend it if you are a fan of military history, or even World War II at all. It is fascinating how the brotherhood of the graduates were maintained throughout their career and how it helped them all rise to the occasion during the conflicts that arose during their lifetime.

[Davina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting AND overwhelming. The class was the largest up to that time, and so many had illustrious careers. Eisenhower and Bradley seem to get the most "air time." There are so many others that come and go so quickly throughout the narrative. It certainly could have been a much longer book, lingering over the lesser lights much more than they did. It was an easy read, and it kept my attention, but I only give this a 3 star, just because I don't think I'd want to read it again.

[James Phieffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

An excellent overview of the West Point Class of 1915, that ended up having such an impact on the history of the 20th century.

From here, the reader can better understand the memoirs and biographies of individual class members, as well as some of those who were closely associated with them.

All in all, an excellent read.

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done historical rendition.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t finish this book. It was bogged down with facts and more facts. A dry book about the 2915 class at West Point. I listen to half of it and couldn’t take the narrator or the story anymore.

[Gerald Randklev]

Fascinating to follow the history of this very special class of Army Officers!

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trump is no Eisenhower.

[Johnnyc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary of the men that would go on to play important roles in the winning of WW2. Makes you want to explore further in individual biographies.

[Mark Phinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Collective Biography

Lots of names to try to remember. Lots of breaks in the flow the narrative during the World War II years. Very interesting to the connections between classmates once some of the class reaches the senior officer ranks.

[Jennifer Bort · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book will appear in the May 2015 issue of Historical Novels Review from the Historical Novel Society.

[Luis Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

West Point 1915

Reseña interesante de como una promoción de oficiales tuvo un rol tan destacado en la historia del mundo durante tantos años en lucha contra tiranos.

[Joshua Duran]

Audible Audiobook