George Marshall: A Biography - Hardcover

Unger, Debi; Unger, Irwin; Hirshson, Stanley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060577193 ISBN 13: 9780060577193

Publisher: Harper, 2014

Synopsis

A major historical biography of George C. Marshall—the general who ran the U.S. campaign during the Second World War, the Secretary of State who oversaw the successful rebuilding of post-war Europe, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—and the first to offer a complete picture of his life.

While Eisenhower Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, MacArthur, Nimitz, and Leahy waged battles in Europe and the Pacific, one military leader actually ran World War II for America, overseeing personnel and logistics: Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 to 1945, George C. Marshall.

This interpretive biography of George C. Marshall follows his life from his childhood in Western Pennsylvania and his military training at the Virginia Military Institute to his role during and after World War II and his death in 1959 at the age of seventy-eight. It brings to light the virtuous historical role models who inspired him, including George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and his relationships with the Washington political establishment, military brass, and foreign leaders, from Harry Truman to Chiang Kai-shek. It explores Marshall’s successes and failures during World War II, and his contributions through two critical years of the emerging Cold War—including the transformative Marshall Plan, which saved Western Europe from Soviet domination, and the failed attempt to unite China’s nationalists and communists.

Based on breathtaking research and filled with rich detail, George Marshall is sure to be hailed as the definitive work on one of the most influential figures in American history.

About this title

About the Authors

Together Irwin and Debi Unger have authored LBJ: A Life and several other books. They live in New York City.

Irwin Unger has won the Pulitzer Prize in history for The Greenback Era as well as two Guggenheim fellowships. Together Irwin and Debi Unger have authored LBJ: A Life and several other books.

Stanley P. Hirshson was professor of history at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of biographies of Brigham Young, Gen. William T. Sherman, and Gen. George Patton, and died in 2003.

From the Back Cover

“Elegant and iconoclastic . . . refreshing . . . persuasive.”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Here is the first biography to offer a complete picture of the life of George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 to 1945 and the military leader who actually ran World War II for America as he oversaw all personnel and logistics.

Following Marshall from his childhood in western Pennsylvania and his training at the Virginia Military Institute to his role during and after World War II and his death in 1959 at the age of seventy-eight, this biography casts light on the inspiration he took from historical role models, such as George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and his relationships with military brass, the Washington political establishment, and world leaders, from Harry Truman to Chiang Kai-shek. It also explores Marshall’s triumphs and defeats during World War II, and his contributions through two critical years of the emerging Cold War—including the transformative Marshall Plan, which saved Western Europe from Soviet domination, and his failed attempt to unite China’s Nationalists and Communists.

Based on exhaustive research and filled with rich detail, George Marshall is sure to be hailed as the definitive work on one of the most influential figures in American history.

“A grand but judicious biography of a fascinating man.”—Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060577193
• ISBN 13: 9780060577193
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560