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American Warriors
Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith
A valued adviser and trusted insider in the highest echelon of U.S. military and political leaders, General Walter Bedell Smith began his public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an essential role in forming the offices of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff; and after his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning and orchestrating the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe. Among his many duties, Smith negotiated and signed the surrenders of the Italian and German armed forces on May 7, 1945.
Smith's postwar career included service as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. Despite his contributions to twentieth-century American military and diplomatic history, the life and work of Smith have largely gone unappreciated. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower.
Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander and the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe. Beetle is the fascinating history of a soldier, diplomat, and intelligence chief who played a central role in many decisions that altered mid-twentieth-century American history.
Smith's postwar career included service as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. Despite his contributions to twentieth-century American military and diplomatic history, the life and work of Smith have largely gone unappreciated. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower.
Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander and the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe. Beetle is the fascinating history of a soldier, diplomat, and intelligence chief who played a central role in many decisions that altered mid-twentieth-century American history.
1088 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
D.K.R. Crosswell
3 books1 followerD. K. R. Crosswell is Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair in Military History at Columbus State University, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 6, 2011
This is a tome -- a door stop but I do recommend it. It tells the story of World War II through the eyes of the American generals who were in charge. Walter Bedell Smith was the ultimate insider and except for his name probably being the inspiration of the cartoon Beetle Smith, you never hear him mentioned historically. They talk about Ike, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery but never Smith. He was Eisenhower's right hand (and left hand) man, the go-to guy to talk with Roosevelt and Churchill. He did lots of the dirtly work for Eisenhower and had the ulcers to prove it. What was particularly fascinating is how World War II was being run by a huge bureacracy. It's amazing that anything ever was accomplished with some many layers of decisions that needed to be made. The description of Ike is not particulary flattering. He is the first president I can remember. If this book has been written before he ran for President, well he wouldn't have been elected. It gives a totally different view of General Omar Bradley from how he is portrayed in the movie PATTON. Again, not flattering. It portrays the British as initially fighting for their existence and then once that was assured, fighting to keep their position as a major world power against the up and coming United States. It was a futile battle.
March 20, 2012
For me, this book was a second-rate biography of Eisenhower, and.a third-rate biography of Smith. I did not come away with much feeling of who Smith was, and what he truly thought and felt about all he did.
What I did get was a very tedious description of Allied headquarters, and further confirmation that the Germans lost the war, and the Americans just happened to be in Europe around that time.
Other than his bleeding gut, what did Smith feel? The book never answers that question for me...
Because of the amount of facts and details provided, one has to really WANT to read this book.
What I did get was a very tedious description of Allied headquarters, and further confirmation that the Germans lost the war, and the Americans just happened to be in Europe around that time.
Other than his bleeding gut, what did Smith feel? The book never answers that question for me...
Because of the amount of facts and details provided, one has to really WANT to read this book.
May 31, 2015
Biography of Eisenhower's chief of staff during WWII. About 20% of the book was about Beetle. The other 80% was about decisions made at Allied Headquarters during the war. There were many new facts presented about those decisions. Some of the discussion was related to organization of the supply situation and was filled with acronyms which seemed to require previous knowledge.
May 19, 2022
As a former student of the author, I can attest to the author’s masterful writing and research skills. This is a phenomenal read of win important, and probably overlooked, figure who was crucial to American history, specifically World War II. Not only is this an important biographical read, it stands as a quality piece of WWII narrative history. A must read for students of history.
November 18, 2021
I had looked forward to reading this book for some hoping for insight into the inner workings of Allied Headquarters in WW2. I was disappointed by the lack of detailed information. Smith's contributions from the beginning o the war until the end should provide a huge amount of detailed stories highlighting his role and provide entertaining reading but this book comes up short. Maybe it should have been a 2 volume project just based on the scope of his involvement. An example is the endless battle over Supply Support for the theater which is not put in context to gain a better understanding for the reader. Another issue was his recurring illness due to stress and work, We really never get examples of what it is that drives the episodes. I'm glad I read it I just wish there was more details.
July 12, 2017
Let me first say I am biased by the fact that Dr. Crosswell, the author of this book, was one of my professors and a man I greatly admire. That being said, this is an immensely comprehensive and interesting historical work. Yes, it is very acronym heavy, but it is a work that simply needs to be. It is a historical text, intended for those with scholarly interest in history. It may not be for the regular Joe who enjoys history (then again it may be for some), but it is an incredible work by an incredible historian. Dr. Crosswell has an amazing understanding for, and a seemingly endless knowledge of, history (not only WWII, but history in general), and this book is a clear example of that.
December 12, 2025
Where's the Rest of It?
When I see a book titled "The Life Of..." I naively assume that the subject's whole life is included in the bio. Not here, at least in the edition I read. The book abruptly ended at the conclusion of World War II.
That's not the only dilemma. Is the book a way too detailed overview of allied military operations in Europe? Yes. The problem is, it's supposed to be a biography of General Smith, and that's the part I had trouble finding very much of in this 1000+ page tome.
When I see a book titled "The Life Of..." I naively assume that the subject's whole life is included in the bio. Not here, at least in the edition I read. The book abruptly ended at the conclusion of World War II.
That's not the only dilemma. Is the book a way too detailed overview of allied military operations in Europe? Yes. The problem is, it's supposed to be a biography of General Smith, and that's the part I had trouble finding very much of in this 1000+ page tome.
January 1, 2024
An incredibly well-researched and presented history of the highest level of command of the European theatre of operations of the second world war. General Smith's career and unique contribution to the war effort, warts and all, is expertly presented as the vehicle for the reader's sojourn of the command relations, politics and subsequent triumphs and tragedies. A truly exceptional contribution to our knowledge of how the allied second world war effort was led.
March 5, 2023
Masterpiece
A detailed, well written behind the curtains account of how the European Theater of Operations was really orchestrated. The reader will come away with a literal understanding of "War is politics by other means".
A detailed, well written behind the curtains account of how the European Theater of Operations was really orchestrated. The reader will come away with a literal understanding of "War is politics by other means".
July 10, 2023
Very good book in regard to how the SHAEF worked during WW2 or did not. After reading the book I am still trying to figure out how the Allies won the war. Good insight into most of the major commanders in ETO and MTO.
March 18, 2011
Good grief, this was huge!!
I lost interest sometime in 1942, and skipped ahead to the part I wanted to read: the 1944 NW Europe campaign. There is where the author did good work in analyzing the workings (or not) of SHAEF and General Smith. Unfortunately, it seemed like there were two books here (at least), and the one that was the biography of Smith was way overshadowed.
I had difficulty whenever the book tried to cover the snarled lines of supply that bedeviled the Allies in 1944. The author may have been as confused as I was, because I could not make heads or tails of what the problem was, what the suggested solution was, or what the results were. I did gather that Eisenhower didn't want to make a hard decision, and so left a lot of things lie.
The Eisenhower that emerges here, by the way, is a very different one than I have sometimes read, but agrees with other detractors. As I said above, he tried to avoid hard decisions, and preferred to hide behind woolly memos that weren't really orders.
I lost interest sometime in 1942, and skipped ahead to the part I wanted to read: the 1944 NW Europe campaign. There is where the author did good work in analyzing the workings (or not) of SHAEF and General Smith. Unfortunately, it seemed like there were two books here (at least), and the one that was the biography of Smith was way overshadowed.
I had difficulty whenever the book tried to cover the snarled lines of supply that bedeviled the Allies in 1944. The author may have been as confused as I was, because I could not make heads or tails of what the problem was, what the suggested solution was, or what the results were. I did gather that Eisenhower didn't want to make a hard decision, and so left a lot of things lie.
The Eisenhower that emerges here, by the way, is a very different one than I have sometimes read, but agrees with other detractors. As I said above, he tried to avoid hard decisions, and preferred to hide behind woolly memos that weren't really orders.
February 21, 2011
If I had tried reading this book more than five years ago, I would have found it boring. Beetle provided some great insight into how the European theater of WWII was managed. The story provided yet another data point of amazement that anything ever gets accomplished. The author did not paint a very favorable picture of Dwight D. Eisenhower, but it did echo observations shared in Korda's 'Ike'. (Neither author thought much of Montgomery.)
The face of the military I've been more familiar with in the past is the visage of troops on the line. This book tells the story of all the support, or lack of in some cases, the headquarters provides. A lot of time is spent on Bedell's attempt to unify various support commands under SHAEF's span of control. (It didn't work...)
The book is incredibly dense, but I found it enlightening. While the book is 'the life of', it spends the bulk of its pages on Bedell's experiences in World War II.
Overall, as a relatively new manager and leader, I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
The face of the military I've been more familiar with in the past is the visage of troops on the line. This book tells the story of all the support, or lack of in some cases, the headquarters provides. A lot of time is spent on Bedell's attempt to unify various support commands under SHAEF's span of control. (It didn't work...)
The book is incredibly dense, but I found it enlightening. While the book is 'the life of', it spends the bulk of its pages on Bedell's experiences in World War II.
Overall, as a relatively new manager and leader, I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
May 27, 2013
Crosswell has done a masterful job recounting the war from the perspective of Eisenhower's Chief of Staff. The book is extremely well researched and written in a very readable format. The author recognizes historical controversies and presents a well balanced accounting of each. This is more than just a biography of Walter Bedell Smith, it is a wonderful account of the war from the perspective of the Allied headquarters. Crosswell also adds solid historical analysis that puts events and decisions in perspective. He does a commendable job of limiting national or emotional bias in this book, which is something usually missing from niographies.
I highly recommend this book to the serious student of the Second World War.
I highly recommend this book to the serious student of the Second World War.
May 15, 2013
Very dense and went to great pains to boost General Smith at Eisenhower's expense, but a good read for those wanting an "inside baseball" view of command and politics in the post-war world.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews