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The Making of a Leader: The Formative Years of George C. Marshall
A portrait of one of the greatest leaders of modern history, George Catlett Marshall (1880–1959), and a distillation of the essential lessons his formation offers to the leaders of today and tomorrow.
George Marshall’s accomplishments are after guiding the Allies to victory during World War II, he set Europe on the postwar path to recovery with the plan that bears his name and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. But how did he become such an effective leader?
By eschewing the years and accomplishments for which Marshall is most often remembered and focusing instead on the decisive moments that preceded them, The Making of a Leader provides the most detailed look yet at the mettle of Marshall’s character, from his arrival as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and his Fort Leavenworth days—where he “learned how to learn”—to his instructive time as John J. Pershing’s aide-de-camp and his critical experiences during World War I. Josiah Bunting III, a lifelong educator and former superintendent of Marshall’s alma mater, highlights the importance of Marshall’s activity between the wars, when he led “the single most influential period of military education” at Fort Benning, eventually culminating in his appointment as army chief of staff in 1939.
In this illuminating portrait, Bunting cuts through the legend of Marshall to the man—his frustrations, passions, loves, and brilliance—revealing a humble commander who knew not only how to lead but how to see the leader in others.
George Marshall’s accomplishments are after guiding the Allies to victory during World War II, he set Europe on the postwar path to recovery with the plan that bears his name and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. But how did he become such an effective leader?
By eschewing the years and accomplishments for which Marshall is most often remembered and focusing instead on the decisive moments that preceded them, The Making of a Leader provides the most detailed look yet at the mettle of Marshall’s character, from his arrival as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and his Fort Leavenworth days—where he “learned how to learn”—to his instructive time as John J. Pershing’s aide-de-camp and his critical experiences during World War I. Josiah Bunting III, a lifelong educator and former superintendent of Marshall’s alma mater, highlights the importance of Marshall’s activity between the wars, when he led “the single most influential period of military education” at Fort Benning, eventually culminating in his appointment as army chief of staff in 1939.
In this illuminating portrait, Bunting cuts through the legend of Marshall to the man—his frustrations, passions, loves, and brilliance—revealing a humble commander who knew not only how to lead but how to see the leader in others.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published March 19, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 10, 2024
The Making of a Leader was a featured book review in the Wall Street Journal. This book is essentially a prequel about the early life of one is America’s greatest soldiers, George C Marshall. Marshall’s led the United States to victory in World War 2. Winston Churchill noted that Marshall was the organizer of victory due to his superb managerial skills. According to the WSJ, “His secret was not innate genius but a near-superhuman ability to maximize his gifts through hard work and attention to detail. “ Marshall was also the creator of the Marshall which spent billions of dollars to rebuild Europe after the war.
Many times the author makes the point that Marshall was not gifted intellectually but thru tenacity and resolution, “once mobilized on behalf of ambition, could make such ambition formidable.” Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia with zero demerits. As a staff officer in World War 1, he was considered by many of his peers as having no equal in the army. One of his superiors even noted that he would like to serve under Marshall.
It is sad that most Americans do not know or even worse little care who George C Marshall was.
Many times the author makes the point that Marshall was not gifted intellectually but thru tenacity and resolution, “once mobilized on behalf of ambition, could make such ambition formidable.” Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia with zero demerits. As a staff officer in World War 1, he was considered by many of his peers as having no equal in the army. One of his superiors even noted that he would like to serve under Marshall.
It is sad that most Americans do not know or even worse little care who George C Marshall was.
September 27, 2024
Easy to read but seems to lack citations.
November 28, 2023
"The Making of a Leader: The Formative Years of George C. Marshall" by Josiah Bunting III is a compelling exploration of the life and character development of one of America's greatest military leaders. Bunting skillfully navigates Marshall's early years, offering readers a nuanced portrait of the man who would shape the course of history.
The book delves into Marshall's upbringing, education, and the pivotal moments that forged his leadership skills. Bunting's writing is both insightful and engaging, providing a rich narrative that captures Marshall's resilience, intellect, and unwavering commitment to duty.
Bunting goes beyond mere biography, offering valuable lessons on leadership that are relevant across various domains. The author's meticulous research and thoughtful analysis paint a vivid picture of Marshall's journey, illustrating how his experiences shaped his principles and strategic vision.
"The Making of a Leader" is a masterfully crafted work that not only celebrates the life of George C. Marshall but also serves as an inspiring exploration of leadership and character development. Bunting's narrative prowess makes this book a must-read for those interested in history, leadership, and the indomitable spirit that defines great leaders.
The book delves into Marshall's upbringing, education, and the pivotal moments that forged his leadership skills. Bunting's writing is both insightful and engaging, providing a rich narrative that captures Marshall's resilience, intellect, and unwavering commitment to duty.
Bunting goes beyond mere biography, offering valuable lessons on leadership that are relevant across various domains. The author's meticulous research and thoughtful analysis paint a vivid picture of Marshall's journey, illustrating how his experiences shaped his principles and strategic vision.
"The Making of a Leader" is a masterfully crafted work that not only celebrates the life of George C. Marshall but also serves as an inspiring exploration of leadership and character development. Bunting's narrative prowess makes this book a must-read for those interested in history, leadership, and the indomitable spirit that defines great leaders.
November 3, 2025
I was drawn to this book for a couple of reasons.
First, is the theme of looking at George Marshall’s life and professional development up to the start of World War II, uncoupled with the burden of further documenting the latter years as well. The stories of early phases of great people’s lives (found in biographies) in preparation for the significant historical events, has always held special interest for me. Bunting says the correlation of specific traits developed to peculiar challenges later faced was not the intent here, rather the collective pedagogy of education, study, and varied experiences that mattered.
Second (full disclosure) is that Major Josiah Bunting III was one of my history professors at West Point during my 2nd and 3rd years there. He stoked my already felt love of history, particularly military history. I credit him with giving me some sage advice: one should read books, whole books, lots of books throughout one’s life. I have tried to do that. I have read three others of his: “The Lionheads,” “An Education for Our Time,” and “Ulysses S. Grant: The American Presidents Series.” He also opined in class one day in 1972, following a speech he had just given at Fort Benning, that “an army officer ought to be a ‘man of letters’ and not (or instead of) an engineer.” That did not go over well with the leadership at our country’s first engineering school. I heard his explanation firsthand and later listened to a recording of that talk while in IOBC. I agreed with him then, tried as best I could to follow that during my career and have since retirement “pursued that liberal arts education I never got at USMA,” which interestingly enough in the 21st century is available to cadets.
This book is an exceptionally well researched biography of Marshall’s life up to taking over as Army Chief of Staff in 1939. Bunting delves deeply into all of the aspects in the life cycle of learning and character development we all go through. This life cycle alone is worthy of independent study because it is applicable in judging biographies as well as guiding one’s own life. Bunting identifies the process and the results of each phase in Marshall’s life. The conclusion of course is that Marshall was eminently suited for building an army of citizen soldiers from scratch to win World War II.
One thing Bunting does not mention as many other writers never point out: the war machine Marshall crafted was fed into a meat grinder due to a lack of training and officer leadership. Marshall was certainly unable to micromanage all aspects of the army’s expansion, rather left it to the care of the senior officers he placed in charge to do the work. I will digress here to quote from my review of Stephen E. Ambrose’s book “Victors,” which reports on this phenomena as it is pertinent.
"Ambrose clearly makes the point that it was the soldiers who won the war not the high-ranking commanders. In fact, he emphasizes that the soldiers won despite their commanders and their staffs. I missed reading anywhere else in countless WWII history books Ambrose’s most startling conclusion about the US Army training base. “The 84th Division struck him as ‘an impressive product of American training methods which turned out division after division complete, fully equipped.’” But…they were manned with very young soldiers and inexperienced leaders, trained only to take the beaches but not fight in hedgerows, against fortifications in forests or cities which followed. As Ambrose points out, during first contact so many of these units experienced horrendous losses which could have been avoided or at least minimized with proper training and leadership at all levels. He mentions British general Brian Horrocks’ observations, “He was disturbed by the failure of American division and corps commanders and their staffs to ever visit the front lines.” The same could be said for many regimental and battalion commanders. This resulted in things like no hot chow going forward to the troops, which is bad enough; however, it also meant that attack orders were issued without any real understanding of how bad the terrain was for such attacks. This resulted in unacceptable casualties and more importantly no real time tactical learning to prevent such mistakes in the future. Unconscionable behavior. This tangentially gives added credence to the oft cited conclusions about winning the war, that it was the indominable spirit of the soldiers in contact and the overwhelming numbers of American men and equipment that overcame a more experienced and deadly foe. And another point, 'by the end of the war men who had been stateside on D-Day made up virtually the entire fighting Army.'"
I will make one last observation about Marshall’s evaluation of the army’s performance in World War I. One sentence hit a chord: on page 152 in Bunting’s book, he describes Marshall’s conclusions written in his 1919 memoir following a tour of European battlefields: “the country had immediately imbibed the wrong lesson (we can wait until war to prepare for it), just as Marshall understood, the War Dept would probably infer the wrong strategic and tactical conclusions (from the war.” That is exactly the same thing my CSM correctly said after our victory in Desert Storm and just before the army's downsizing mandated as part of the “peace dividend.” As Jack Carr states it "[we] see everything within the prism of [our] own success. The quick victory against Saddam Hussein in 1991 was a Pyrrhic one." ("Red Sky Morning," pg. 121). It is also the theme of the book “America’s First Battles” by Bill Stofft (a USMA history faculty colleague of Bunting’s) and Charles Heller.
First, is the theme of looking at George Marshall’s life and professional development up to the start of World War II, uncoupled with the burden of further documenting the latter years as well. The stories of early phases of great people’s lives (found in biographies) in preparation for the significant historical events, has always held special interest for me. Bunting says the correlation of specific traits developed to peculiar challenges later faced was not the intent here, rather the collective pedagogy of education, study, and varied experiences that mattered.
Second (full disclosure) is that Major Josiah Bunting III was one of my history professors at West Point during my 2nd and 3rd years there. He stoked my already felt love of history, particularly military history. I credit him with giving me some sage advice: one should read books, whole books, lots of books throughout one’s life. I have tried to do that. I have read three others of his: “The Lionheads,” “An Education for Our Time,” and “Ulysses S. Grant: The American Presidents Series.” He also opined in class one day in 1972, following a speech he had just given at Fort Benning, that “an army officer ought to be a ‘man of letters’ and not (or instead of) an engineer.” That did not go over well with the leadership at our country’s first engineering school. I heard his explanation firsthand and later listened to a recording of that talk while in IOBC. I agreed with him then, tried as best I could to follow that during my career and have since retirement “pursued that liberal arts education I never got at USMA,” which interestingly enough in the 21st century is available to cadets.
This book is an exceptionally well researched biography of Marshall’s life up to taking over as Army Chief of Staff in 1939. Bunting delves deeply into all of the aspects in the life cycle of learning and character development we all go through. This life cycle alone is worthy of independent study because it is applicable in judging biographies as well as guiding one’s own life. Bunting identifies the process and the results of each phase in Marshall’s life. The conclusion of course is that Marshall was eminently suited for building an army of citizen soldiers from scratch to win World War II.
One thing Bunting does not mention as many other writers never point out: the war machine Marshall crafted was fed into a meat grinder due to a lack of training and officer leadership. Marshall was certainly unable to micromanage all aspects of the army’s expansion, rather left it to the care of the senior officers he placed in charge to do the work. I will digress here to quote from my review of Stephen E. Ambrose’s book “Victors,” which reports on this phenomena as it is pertinent.
"Ambrose clearly makes the point that it was the soldiers who won the war not the high-ranking commanders. In fact, he emphasizes that the soldiers won despite their commanders and their staffs. I missed reading anywhere else in countless WWII history books Ambrose’s most startling conclusion about the US Army training base. “The 84th Division struck him as ‘an impressive product of American training methods which turned out division after division complete, fully equipped.’” But…they were manned with very young soldiers and inexperienced leaders, trained only to take the beaches but not fight in hedgerows, against fortifications in forests or cities which followed. As Ambrose points out, during first contact so many of these units experienced horrendous losses which could have been avoided or at least minimized with proper training and leadership at all levels. He mentions British general Brian Horrocks’ observations, “He was disturbed by the failure of American division and corps commanders and their staffs to ever visit the front lines.” The same could be said for many regimental and battalion commanders. This resulted in things like no hot chow going forward to the troops, which is bad enough; however, it also meant that attack orders were issued without any real understanding of how bad the terrain was for such attacks. This resulted in unacceptable casualties and more importantly no real time tactical learning to prevent such mistakes in the future. Unconscionable behavior. This tangentially gives added credence to the oft cited conclusions about winning the war, that it was the indominable spirit of the soldiers in contact and the overwhelming numbers of American men and equipment that overcame a more experienced and deadly foe. And another point, 'by the end of the war men who had been stateside on D-Day made up virtually the entire fighting Army.'"
I will make one last observation about Marshall’s evaluation of the army’s performance in World War I. One sentence hit a chord: on page 152 in Bunting’s book, he describes Marshall’s conclusions written in his 1919 memoir following a tour of European battlefields: “the country had immediately imbibed the wrong lesson (we can wait until war to prepare for it), just as Marshall understood, the War Dept would probably infer the wrong strategic and tactical conclusions (from the war.” That is exactly the same thing my CSM correctly said after our victory in Desert Storm and just before the army's downsizing mandated as part of the “peace dividend.” As Jack Carr states it "[we] see everything within the prism of [our] own success. The quick victory against Saddam Hussein in 1991 was a Pyrrhic one." ("Red Sky Morning," pg. 121). It is also the theme of the book “America’s First Battles” by Bill Stofft (a USMA history faculty colleague of Bunting’s) and Charles Heller.
October 6, 2025
This book examines one of the (surprisingly) least-studied periods of George C. Marshall’s professional life: the formative years lasting through the eve of his elevation to Army Chief of Staff prior to America’s entry into World War II. As the author points out, history has largely focused on Marshall’s titanic career spent leading at the strategic level beginning in the late 1930s and extending into the early years of the Cold War. “The Making of a Leader” seeks to help balance the scales a bit.
This book moves quickly toward Marshall’s ascension to the highest levels of the Army, missing the chance linger a bit longer on some of these key early periods, especially Marshall’s time directing the Infantry School at Fort Benning. But the author communicates the salient points clearly and effectively, even if without the color and detail that a reader accustomed to Forrest Pogue’s multi-volume biography of Marshall might expect.
Despite the well-established qualities and accomplishments of George Marshall, I still cringe at hagiography, especially when aimed at general officers. Not long ago, we had to endure heaps of unwarranted (and nauseating) praise of pseudo-strategists like David Patreaus, Stanley McChrystal, and the ridiculously nicknamed “Mad Dog” Mattis, none of whom was qualified to dust the boots of a man like George Marshall.
Luckily, the author takes care to emphasize Marshall’s humility, earnestness, and sense of duty. As I recently read, generals are the “celebrities” of the military - something that George C. Marshall rightly eschewed. We could use more leaders of his type today.
This book moves quickly toward Marshall’s ascension to the highest levels of the Army, missing the chance linger a bit longer on some of these key early periods, especially Marshall’s time directing the Infantry School at Fort Benning. But the author communicates the salient points clearly and effectively, even if without the color and detail that a reader accustomed to Forrest Pogue’s multi-volume biography of Marshall might expect.
Despite the well-established qualities and accomplishments of George Marshall, I still cringe at hagiography, especially when aimed at general officers. Not long ago, we had to endure heaps of unwarranted (and nauseating) praise of pseudo-strategists like David Patreaus, Stanley McChrystal, and the ridiculously nicknamed “Mad Dog” Mattis, none of whom was qualified to dust the boots of a man like George Marshall.
Luckily, the author takes care to emphasize Marshall’s humility, earnestness, and sense of duty. As I recently read, generals are the “celebrities” of the military - something that George C. Marshall rightly eschewed. We could use more leaders of his type today.
February 9, 2025
After visiting the Eisenhower Museum on D-Day 2024, I wanted to learn more about George C. Marshall, the man who put Eisenhower in the position of Allied Commander. By all rights, George himself should have had that position. But, FDR needed the proven consummate tactical planner to remain in DC. And so, he did.
Walking through the Eisenhower museum exhibit, it struck me that every assignment Ike took or volunteered to take (even when friends/colleagues questioned his choices) seemed to providentially prepare him for his penultimate assignment. Likewise, author Josiah Bunting III, sees Marshall as being providentially prepared for his moment in history. Passed over for field command and promotions time and again, Marshall tackled every assignment with equal fervor and detail. Consequently, he was not only noticed but befriended by powerful people both in the military and the private sectors.
If you, like me, have ever wondered about the background and formation of the man who served as Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of War, Secretary of State and gave us the enduring Marshall Plan post WWII, this book is an excellent place to begin.
Walking through the Eisenhower museum exhibit, it struck me that every assignment Ike took or volunteered to take (even when friends/colleagues questioned his choices) seemed to providentially prepare him for his penultimate assignment. Likewise, author Josiah Bunting III, sees Marshall as being providentially prepared for his moment in history. Passed over for field command and promotions time and again, Marshall tackled every assignment with equal fervor and detail. Consequently, he was not only noticed but befriended by powerful people both in the military and the private sectors.
If you, like me, have ever wondered about the background and formation of the man who served as Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of War, Secretary of State and gave us the enduring Marshall Plan post WWII, this book is an excellent place to begin.
December 21, 2025
A sparse biography (probably because not much was recorded of Marshall's life prior to WWII) but a good overview of the development of the US Army from the Spanish American War to WWII. Author paints a glowing portrait of a man now sadly forgotten for his role in winning WWII.
In hindsight it seems Marshall was destined for greatness in WWII, but he didn't know that the war was in the offing. Its a head scratcher as to why he stayed in the army during the interwar years with few opportunities for advancement. But then again, it sounds like the officer's had a cushy life. Large houses and servants on the army base and not much to do. The author recounts Marshall taking daily horse rides and two hour squash matches. Plus frequent extended paid leaves, sometimes lasting six months. This, at a time when the standard work week involved 10 hour days, six days a week!
The US. has been fortunate to have had the right military leaders at the right time. Washington, Grant, Eisenhower, to name a few. Excellent military men but also selfless with solid moral compasses. The author makes a good argument that Marshall belongs on that list.
In hindsight it seems Marshall was destined for greatness in WWII, but he didn't know that the war was in the offing. Its a head scratcher as to why he stayed in the army during the interwar years with few opportunities for advancement. But then again, it sounds like the officer's had a cushy life. Large houses and servants on the army base and not much to do. The author recounts Marshall taking daily horse rides and two hour squash matches. Plus frequent extended paid leaves, sometimes lasting six months. This, at a time when the standard work week involved 10 hour days, six days a week!
The US. has been fortunate to have had the right military leaders at the right time. Washington, Grant, Eisenhower, to name a few. Excellent military men but also selfless with solid moral compasses. The author makes a good argument that Marshall belongs on that list.
June 17, 2024
I received this book as a giveaway. If you are a war history buff you will thoroughly enjoy this book. If you already know of George Marshall's achievements in WWII this book is an insight into what shaped his character. If you do not know why he is famous this book will not help you as it ends at the beginning of the war. This book gets 3 stars because I am a voracious reader of many different kinds of books and I still didn't understand a great many words. It almost felt like the author was just using all of the biggest most obscure words that they could find which made it feel more like a textbook than something the average person would want to read.
April 24, 2024
This is a great overview of General Marshall's early life and career. I grew up reading my father's collection of WWII books and came to recognize General Marshall as a true American hero. This country was fortunate to have him at a critical time in history. Sadly, I have never found the time to read a big, detailed biography of Gen. Marshall but I grabbed a copy of this book as soon as it came out. It was informative and interesting. I recommend it to anyone interested in Gen. Marshall's career and in the history of the pre-WWII American military.
June 30, 2024
I started reading this book and was somewhat unimpressed. Much of what I read was information that I knew from previous study. But the author moved beyond that to truly present Marshall’s career and training as preparation for his role in building an American army that would emerge victorious in World War II and then become the post war military enterprise that was and remains the envy of the world. This is a very wise and thoughtful book that, in the end, expanded what I knew of the man I believe to be one of the greatest Americans ever.
Want to read
March 16, 2024Review from WSJ 3/16/2024 by Jonathan W. Jordan: "Mr. Bunting conveys a keen sense of balance and perception. Keeping a focus on the big inflection points of Marshall’s life, the author does not turn every incident into a saintly miracle or salutary story. Offering context and interconnection, mixing warts and paeans, he ably narrates the grit and dedication that went into making an American leader."
November 22, 2023
George Marshall is well known for his accomplishments later in his career but how did he arrive at this point? Bunting answers this question with an excellent glimpse into Marshall’s early years. We see the forming of the soldier’s soldier that Marshall is. I would highly recommend this to those interested in military history.
August 19, 2024
Marshall is certainly a fascinating character and I dont know as much about him as I should. This book caught my eye as a different take on Marshall so I grabbed it. Fawning would seem the best description. Wordy too.
September 18, 2025
Education must first and foremost be for character development. A short book but a difficult read in that the author packs much into each sentence. A book to inspire someone to put others before themselves and to be excellent and your best self for those around you.
May 1, 2024
An exceptionally well written look at the life of what some may call America's other "indispensable man".
May 29, 2024
I'm always interested in what were the formative years like for the world's greatest leaders. Marshall's was quite interesting. He was a great man. I enjoyed the read.
December 2, 2024
Interesting telling of Marshall’s early military career. A bit of a VA southern bias (several linkages of Lee to Washington was off putting). A whiff of Lost Cause sentiment…
March 13, 2025
Not comprehensive by any means, but a respectable and informative summary.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews