The Generals

Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II

By: Winston Groom

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the intertwined and uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall - from the World War I battle that shaped them to their greatest achievement: leading the allies to victory in World War II.

These three remarkable men-of-arms, who rose from the gruesome hell of the First World War to become the finest generals of their generation during World War II, redefined America's ideas of military leadership and brought forth a new generation of American soldier. Their efforts revealed to the world the grit and determination that would become synonymous with America in the postwar years.

Virginian George Marshall led his class at the Virginia Military Institute to become the principal planner of the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, the greatest American operation, which ended the conflict. Afterward, he rose to become the army's chief of staff, where he balanced the volatility of generals such as Patton and MacArthur for the good of the country.

Like Marshall, George Patton, who is remembered as one of the most heroic and controversial generals in American history, overcame early academic difficulties to graduate at the top of his class at West Point. He would build and command the army's burgeoning tank division, lead the successful invasion of North Africa during World War II, and die under mysterious circumstances in 1945.

Douglas MacArthur also graduated at the top of his West Point class and became known as the "bravest man in the US Army" during the First World War, where he was commissioned as the youngest general in the armed forces. He commanded in the Pacific in World War II, where his strategy famously defeated the Empire of Japan.

©2015 Winston Groom (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting and a great narrative

Winston Groom has written interwoven biographies of three great American Military leaders of the 20th Century. I have read a number of Groom’s books in the past; one of his books was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Many of his books were about leaders in the aviation field.

I have read extensively about all three of these famous generals, Patton and Marshall were two of my favorite generals. Surprisingly I found new information about all three generals, which alone make the book worth reading. The biographies of each general all touch the main highlights of each man’s career.

The three generals are all extremely interesting and have contrasting personalities so they are easy to follow. Patton the most flamboyant of the three developed the essentials of tank warfare in World War One then applied the knowledge with expertise in World War Two. Marshall is the only team player of the three men, he became type cast in World War One as a staff officer, and he was a brilliant strategic planner and also a genius at organizing logistics, personnel and supply. He was Chief of Staff in WWII and devised the Marshall Plan as Secretary of State and also served as Secretary of Defense. MacArthur was consider to be the greatest of our field generals but like Marshall his greatest achievements came after the War, in creating the groundwork for modern Japan. Groom follows each man from youth to end of career. Groom points out that each man was extremely knowledgeable in history, all were prolific readers and all wrote poetry with Patton being the most prolific poet. They grew up at a time when poetry was very popular and everyone wrote poetry.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. The author has the skills of a novelist in sense of timing and scene building. If you enjoy history this book is for you. Robertson Dean did an excellent job narrating the book. The book is fairly long at about 16 hours.

Wish it was longer

Wish it was longer! Will have to buy individual bios now of these three American legends!

Good History Refresher

It should be understandable when you are trying to cover the lives of three very important and instrumental American generals that you are not going to get too much into the detail, and that is the case here. I agree with an earlier review that there is not a lot of new here, more taking from works of others to bring us the picture. It was enjoyable to listen to and the performance was solid. However, I felt what was significantly lacking here was any kind of analysis or thought of the author as to why these there generals of World War II were picked to write about. It might just be assumed that these were the three greatest generals, but nothing is said as to why or why just these and no one else. So, it was a pretty peripheral treatment with not a whole lot of author input or analysis, but still enjoyable to listen to and interesting as a refresher.

An Interesting Listen

There's something about listening to the stories of brave men and their lives that inspires the inner-adventurer in me. This book hit all of those childlike feelings and more.

Brilliant read!

If you have never learned of history and brave men who led in brilliant battles that have kept us free, you must hear this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great book

this covers the life of three of the most qualified and dedicated military men that ever lived and came along at the right time. Being a child during ww2 I knew they were great but I now know why.

A MUST BOOK FOR WWII HISTORY

Well performed. A must for History buffs. Each general comes alive and brings to you what it means to be in highest command. An excellent review of each man.

Amazing History of Great Men

This is a phenomenal book of extraordinary men, it has some slow parts but as a whole it is genius. My only complaint is the narrators hard "s" when speaking.

outstanding book

great information about the outstanding leadership these men inspire and encourage even in current times.

Three of America’s Finest Generals splendidly written about

This was such an amazing book to listen to; it did so much in one book to catch me up on three of America’s finest generals, not just on WW2 but also WW1 and American history apart from these awful wars. My affinity was towards general Patton, but I learned so much about all three and left with a deep respect for all of them and a thirst to learn more about men similar to them. I didn’t like that general Eisenhower was excluded- but he is worthy of his own chronicle. Splendidly written and read!