15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century

Fascinating account of the interaction of three of the four most famous U.S. general officers in the 20th century (and the fourth, Blackjack Pershing, of WWI fame, knew the other three very well and had a behind-the-scenes role with each of them in WWII, including direct communications with FDR -- which is also covered in this masterly work). These three giants all had unique personalities and operating styles; they collaborated when necessary, sometimes begrudgingly, and clashed on many occasions. Of the three, the ultimate arbiter was George Marshall -- who groomed Ike, put him in place as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and then kept him on a short leash. Marshall also hand-massaged the supremely egotistical Douglas MacArthur to keep him in line throughout the war in the Pacific despite MacArthur's frequent paranoia about Washington. And of course, Ike and MacArthur (Ike once was MacArthur's aide) grew to despise each other. All of these not-so-well-known nuances are brilliantly addressed by the author. A great read!

George Marshall, Dwight Eisehhower and Douglas MacArthur, three names that probably are not familiar to most Americans today. Yet these three men had an outsized influence on the course of world history. George Marshall was Chief Of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 onward and was hailed by Winston Churchill as the architect of the Allied victory. Subsequent to the war, Marshall served as a special envoy to China which was at the time in danger of being taken over by Communists (which, indeed, it was), Secretary of State and the father of the Marshall Plan for resuscitating Europe and keeping it from succumbing to Communism and Secretary of Defense. Marshall, in truth, was probably one of the ten most influential men of the 20th Century. Dwight Eisenhower, born to an ordinary family in Abilene, Texas, rose in the U.S. Army to become the Supreme Commander of forces in the Western European Theatre. He was responsible for keeping an international coalition together in the war against the Germans and Italians. It was not an easy task. Eisenhower's claim to fame was not as a strategic or tactical military genius, but as a conciliator, facilitator and coalition builder. He went on to serve two terms as President of the United States. Douglas MacArthur was a character who could not survive in 21st Century America. Today's media would rip him to shreds within hours. But back in the 1930s, 1940s and into the 1950s, he was an American hero of the first order. Lionized by the press, sought after by politicians as a potential candidate for President, General MacArthur was touted as a military genius. In fact, MacArthur was a man of towering ego who ran his own publicity machine which rarely told the truth. MacArthur famously defied Presidential authority in 1951 and was fired by then President Truman, setting off a firestorm of popular indignation and Congressional investigations. Weintraub writes an interesting history of the interplay of these three men, each of whom (along with four others) was elevated to five-star rank. This honor was primarily to make them equivalent to the British and Soviet Field Marshalls as well as to honor their acheivement. Weintraub clearly has no affection or respect for MacArthur. His catalog of mistakes, follies and foibles is long and Weintraub doesn't omit any of them. Marshall is treated as he was: a truly unique man of immense capability who selflessly labored in behalf of the nation and the world. Weintraub does an excellent job of describing Marshall, but it is really only an introduction. Hopefully anyone reading "15 Stars" will want to to on and read one or more the dedicated Marshall biographies. He was truly a remarkable man and one to whom hundreds of millions of Americans and Europeans of the WWII era and ever sense should feel a debt of gratitude to. Eisenhower is portrayed as he was as well, a highly competent administrator and manager with incredible patience and the ability to deal with pri

The author is an important historian of WWII. He looks in this volume at the of the first three five star generals. Their dates of rank were seperated by two days. Marshall, first, followed by MacArthur and then, Eisenhower. Their elevation put them on an equal footing witht the Field Marshals of other countries they commanded. I found the study balanced and interesting although I wouldn't consider it as profound as some of the author's other works. Some reviewers have remarked on the unfavorable comments about MacArthur. They are, as far as my own reading is concerned, as well as several lengthy discussions while an undergraduate with a member of the Army's historians assigned to the Southwest Pacific during WWII, accurate. This individual was a professional historian with his Phd prior to the outbreak of the war. Each of these men in their own way played an important role in the execution of the war plan and organization. Despite his shortcomings, MacArthur was a force and managed a theatre with limited resources. Some students of war call him one of our best fighting generals. It's hard to weigh that evaluation against history, but it's important to measure his accomplishments rather than focus on his personality. This book is recommended for anyone's collection of military history. It shows the range of individuality in the execution of senior command, and the army's felxibility in allowing such different personalities to get the job done. One has to reflect on John Eisenhower's comment about his father. Ike was far more jealous of his place in history among the great military leaders than his role as president. The further we get from those years, the more amazing it is that such a man as Marshall was available for the key position he played. Credit should also be given to Roosevelt for the courage to reach so far down in the ranks of generals to select Marshall as Chief of Staff. Over fifty active generals had dates of rank exceeding Marshall's.

Finally, what appears to be a very true account of three generals without the hero-worship propoganda required during war. When you read this book you experience something different - it sounds real: egos galore, human failings, military mistakes made to look like successes, pomposity, personal agendas,etc. It's a delight to read. Buy it. How we won the war becomes more of a mystery as you read this book, but I can only imagine how the other side was if our leadership was like this. If I were a military leader during this time, I could easily report to Marshall, Eisenhower would be OK, but I would never have survived under MacArthur! He brought new meaning to the words ego and pomposity. Fun to read, though.

"15 Stars" is an examination of how the careers, personalities, and goals of America's first 5-star Army Generals, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur, intersected and intertwined at critical moments. (Previous Generals of the Army were limited, at most, to 4-stars, however, it is generally considered that the highest military rank in the U.S., regardless of the number of stars associated with it, was that of General of the Armies of the U.S. Only two soldiers ever held this title: George Washington and John J. Pershing.) The 5-star rank was created by Congress in late 1944. Before then a British Field Marshal was considered to outrank a 4-star U.S. General, regardless of his title or how many troops he commmanded. As the Second World War progressed British Field Marshals were being placed in positions of inferiority to U.S. Generals and the British Field Marshals were thus, technically, taking orders from their subordinates. The 5-star rank was intended to remedy this touchy situation. (There is an apocyphal story that George Marshall objected to the new U.S. 5-star rank being called "Field Marshall" because, as its first recipient, he would then be known as "Field Marshal Marshall".) The author tracks these three great American icons as they become America's premier soldier leaders during World War II (while often engaging in not always friendly maneouvering against each other): Marshall as America's top career soldier in the U.S.; Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; and MacArthur as commander in the Pacific. The author also follows their respective career trajectories after the war as well as all continued to hold positions of prominence during the early stages of the Cold War: Marshall as Secretary of State and proponent of what became known as the Marshall Plan (and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace); Eisenhower as U.S. President; and MacArthur as overseer of Japan and both hero and goat in the Korean Conflict. The author's portrayal of these men as they interacted with each other, other leaders, and those around them is not all that different from the public's perceptions of these men: Marshall comes off as a calm, often cold, administrator even in times of great crisis; Eisenhower was the genial mediator; and MacArthur, perhaps the most brillant of the bunch, a strutting peacock, feisty bantam rooster, and wily hawk all tightly contained in a regal framework prone to demagoguery. Nonetheless, the story is told in a fresh and engaging manner that makes it worthwhile reading for a greater understanding (even if not a complete one given the breadth of the subject matter) of how America came out on top in World War II and thereafter.