The biography of General of the Army, Douglas Macarthur

by Sydney L. Mayer

Good DJ over a Better than very good Book. Published by Gallery 1983 Reprint. 167 Pristine Pages. Nice Copy

167 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Julio Pino · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lion in winter. Following victory in the Pacific, which he claimed for himself, Douglas MacArthur enjoyed his finest hour as proconsul of Japan; Supreme Commander of the occupation forces, chief magistrate, drafting Japan's post-war constitution, still in force, and de facto head of state over Emperor Hirohito, whom he absolved of war crimes. MacArthur introduced the Japanese to labor unions, female suffrage, legalization of the Communist Party, and land reforms that broke up the old feudal aristocracy that had made the war possible. But, over the horizon, a Greek tragedy was brewing for him. The North Korean invasion of the South in 1950 offered Mac one last chance to dazzle the world with his military prowess at Inchon. After that triumph, MacArthur became convinced he knew the future of Asia better than the Truman administration, offering Kim Il Sung a chance to negotiate and end to the war person-to-person, calling on Chiang Kai Shek on Taiwan, telling Washington to "unleash his troops" unto mainland China, and finally demanding the use of "fifty or more atomic bombs on Manchuria". Truman's dismissal of MacArthur most likely averted a world war with Russia and China simultaneously. The old warrior came home to America, still beloved and basking in the glory that had once been his.