Education Of A General 1880-1939

This was the first of a four volume set on the life of General George C. Marshall, who became Chief of Staff of the Army for President Franklin Roosevelt immediately before World War II. General Marshall became the architect for the war strategy which pulled the allies from disaster to victory. This first volume dealt with General Marshall's early life from childhood to adolescent, through his education at VMI, to early military service, through staff service and command of men in World War I, to his apppointment as Chief of Staff. The book also reveals, mostly for the first time, information about his trials and tragedies; his strained relationship with his brother, his overwhelming desire to lead men in combat assignments, the heartbreaking loss of his first wife. We read so much about other famous leaders during WWII, i.e., Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and rightfully so; but never has so much material been available on the actual strategist who brought us to victory: General George C. Marshall. This book is a must-read for any history buff!

Pogue does an excellent job of telling the life of Marshall. You will learn about the man behind the stern image. Marshall had a definite unique personality but often hid it to keep the respect of his men. Marshall also struggled to get the job as Chief of Staff of the military. So far from reading the first volume Marshall isn't as close with Roosevelt as I had imagined. Pogue basically does a fine job creating a readable book with extensive research. I still have three volumes to go, but once you read the first volume you'll want to get all four books to get the whole story. I guess due to classified documents the first volume was published in 1963 and the last in 1987. John Navarra Daytona Beach, Florida