American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964
by William Manchester
List Price:
Our Price: $26.77
You Save: $23.23 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: William ManchesterEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1978-09-30
ISBN: 0316544981
Number of pages: 793
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Product features:
- History, Douglas MacArthur
Book Reviews of American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964
Book Review: MacArthur ... Semper Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
November 19, 2010
Danga Bay, Johor Bahru
Malaysia
American Caesar
This is an outstanding book written about an outstanding American. In a time when a 48 year old politician with no lifetime experiences can write two autobiographies prior to winning the presidency, we have to remember that there are men with such length, depth and breadth of life that even a 700 page biography packed from beginning to end with incredible action and experiences actually gives little more than a cursory review of the events of his life. I always tell my children that when you read a book you learn as much about the author as you do the subject. The author reveals himself through his writing. It is possible, and maybe even probable that I am either too easy on, or too much in agreement with Mr. Manchester, but like an excellent baseball umpire William Manchester is a part of the game, but not visible. At the end of this book I agree with others who have said that leftists will believe that the author was too easy on MacArthur and Conservatives will believe him too hard.
Douglas MacArthur is the son of a Medal of Honor winner and Civil War hero; a famous general who in his own right made an impact both on the America of his time and the Philippines. Douglas MacArthur was born on our American frontier at a time when Indians still posed a life and death threat to settlers and soldiers. By the time he retired from the Army, American B-52s stood ready to carry thermonuclear bombs across the north pole. That is an incredible spread of history and MacArthur played an instrumental part in a great deal of it.
Traditionally, the Chief of Staff of the Army is the highest position that one could achieve during his military career. MacArthur became the youngest man to hold that position in the history of the US Army in 1930 at the age of 50. His life up to that point is covered in the first 160 pages of this biography. Ladies and gentlemen, it was already an exciting life and you haven't read anything yet! The next 500 plus pages of this book introduce you to MacArthur's experiences before the war in the Philippines, the siege of Corregidor, his escape to and defense of Australia, the campaign through PNG and liberation of the Philippines, the Japanese surrender, his proconsulship of Japan, the Korean War and his eventual firing and return to America.
The book is well organized; there are plenty of wonderful pictures and the maps are adequate and necessary. I would have liked to know more about almost every part of MacArthur's life, but the book would become impossibly long.
There are two subjects that troubled me after reading this book. The first is how in 1941 after two years of warfare in both Europe and China the USA could have been so unprepared for the war. After Pearl Harbor Admiral Kimmel was relieved of duty for dereliction. Yet, MacArthur's force in the Philippines was equally decimated by the first assaults of Japan. We have to recognize that it wasn't local military leaders who were at fault, America's political leadership was criminally negligent between 1939 and December 1941 and nothing can hide that fact. Between 1932 and 1941 FDR neglected his Constitutional responsibilities as Commander in Chief.
The second troubling detail is the horrific loss of life attendant with the central Pacific thrust of the war against Japan. When you look at MacArthur's successes in Papua, the Philippines and later with the Inchon Landing it is hard to believe that the sacrifices in the Mariana Island, Tarawa, Pelilue and Okinawa were necessary. Please consider one glaring example: on Okinawa why was it necessary to clear the southern part of the island as we did? Couldn't we have cordoned off the airfields and waited for the Japanese to attack our secure defensive position? I can't help but wonder how many American lives were lost because of the rivalry between MacArthur and Nimitz? In our country, we need to cultivate military leaders who think of and execute Inchon Landings. We have already experienced all the Iwo Jima's and Okinawa's that we need. The great battles we commemorate should be those where we kill the enemy and loose not a man and achieve our objectives!
Douglas MacArthur, heroic, courageous beyond belief, articulate, educated, a visionary, was one of the truly great men of the 20th Century. His efforts to win battles and save the lives of his men should earn him the thanks of us all. I recommend this book to every person. You will learn about leadership, hard work and love of country. I can think of no better way to spend a few hours or a day.
Semper Fi,
Joe Rooney
Summary of American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964
MacArthur, the public figure, the private man, the soldier-hero whose mystery and appeal created a uniquely American legend, portrayed in a brilliant biography that will challenge the cherished myths of admirers and critics alike.United States Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in United States Books
Carrying The Flag: The Story Of Private Charles Whilden, The Confederacy's Most Unlikely Heroby Gordon C. Rhea
Basic Books; Published: 2003-12-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaireby Carol Jenkins, Elizabeth Gardner Hines
One World/Ballantine; Published: 2005-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.03
Price in other shops:
Oswald's Tale: An American Mysteryby Norman Mailer
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2007-01-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.60
Price in other shops:
Renegade: The Making of a Presidentby Richard Wolffe
Broadway; Published: 2010-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of Americaby Ivan Doig
Mariner Books; Published: 1982-10-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.16
Price in other shops:
When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reaganby Peggy Noonan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Penguin Classics)by Harriet Jacobs
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Invention of Solitudeby Paul Auster
Penguin; Published: 1988-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.68
Price in other shops:
On My Own at 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessieby Sarah L. Delany, Amy Hill Hearth
HarperOne; Published: 1998-01-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.99
The Way You Wear Your Hat : Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin'by Bill Zehme
Harper; Published: 1997-11-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-1940by William Manchester
Delta; Published: 1989-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.52
Price in other shops:
Vietnam: A Historyby Stanley Karnow
Viking Adult; Published: 1983-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.95
Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europeby Jonathan W. Jordan
NAL Hardcover; Published: 2011-04-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
John Adamsby David McCullough
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2001-05-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
Trumanby David McCullough
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1992-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.47
Price in other shops:
Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life and Legend of Douglas MacArthurby Geoffrey Perret
Random House; Published: 1996-04-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.90
Goodbye, darkness: A memoir of the Pacific Warby William Raymond Manchester
Little, Brown; Published: 1980; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Patton: A Genius for Warby Carlo D'Este, este, Carlo D'
Harpercollins; Published: 1995-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $49.94
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory 1874-1932by William Manchester
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 1983-05-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.94
Price in other shops:
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940by William Manchester
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 1988-10-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.98
Price in other shops: