Douglas MacArthur

Starred review from May 15, 2016
A freshly critical life of the great American general, whose "spectacular successes were always haunted by his equally spectacular failures." Like Napoleon, Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) still inspires countless biographies, so it's hard to say why we need another after excellent works by William Manchester, Geoffrey Perret, and Mark Perry--except perhaps to set the record straight. Accomplished historian and Hudson Institute senior fellow Herman (The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization, 2013, etc.) sets out to do just that, arguing that MacArthur, like Napoleon, was an original, and though he was deemed arrogant, vain, and imperious, he had "an epic breadth" to his military career like no other. Moreover, though President Harry Truman dismissed him for insubordination over his criticism of policy in the Korean War, the general was carrying out that policy while publicly (and rightly) questioning the efficacy of America's strategy there. Herman asserts that in order to get past MacArthur the legend, readers must delve into three important aspects of his life: his relationship with his father, Arthur MacArthur, the Mexican War hero and military governor of the Philippines, whose standards of duty and excellence the son emulated his whole life; his tie to his strong-willed, adoring mother, who helped shape his early goals starting at West Point and informed his other relationships with women; and his skill as a military strategist, displayed first under Gen. John Pershing's command in France during World War I, then in the Philippines and Pacific theater in World War II, and finally at Inchon, South Korea. Herman underscores the general's key role in bolstering the interwar American military and later advocating relentlessly to build up the Philippines army, despite apathy from Washington. Fatal blunders at Bataan and the Yalu River, among others, should not overshadow the general's far-sightedness in envisioning the early rise of the Pacific Rim. Featuring the use of new archives, a highly regarded historian offers a significant reappraisal.

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May 1, 2016

Recognized as a brilliant staff officer and proud combat hero who possessed a strong sense of destiny and yet equally vilified for the Bonus Army March in 1932 and the Korean War controversy in the 1950s, Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) continues to be a disputed figure. This admiring biography does not ignore MacArthur's faults; however, historian Herman (The Cave and the Light) selectively delves into the myths surrounding his subject's career to prove that MacArthur's critics are wrongheaded. Recounting MacArthur's life from childhood to postmilitary, the account touches upon his respect for his Civil War hero father, a childhood with an overprotective mother, and two marriages, creating a somewhat incohesive psychological and social narrative. Gen. MacArthur's strategic vision allowed him to forge a unified Pacific campaign during World War II, earning him the Medal of Honor; he later oversaw the Occupation of Japan and the Korean War. The author, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, writes with a right-wing perspective throughout. While there are many footnotes, the majority are from secondary sources. VERDICT Herman's revisionist narrative and occasional flowery prose make this a secondary purchase for many libraries, but it may be popular with history and biography audiences.--Edwin Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

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Starred review from June 1, 2016
It has usually been difficult for biographers and historians to remain neutral about MacArthur. Portrayals of this American icon range from hagiographies to demonizations. If objectivity remains elusive, it is important to strive for fairness, and this massive and generally sympathetic revisiting of MacArthur's career and character succeeds in that effort. Pulitzer Prize finalist Herman (The Cave and the Light, 2013) stresses that MacArthur's character was molded both by his idolization of his father, a winner of the Medal of Honor, and his close relationship with his adoring and sometimes domineering mother. MacArthur was imbued with an almost mystical sense of his own destiny for greatness, and he believed that such greatness would be achieved as a soldier. He regarded military service as the highest calling, and Herman repeatedly stresses MacArthur's tactical and strategic brilliance, despite acknowledged failures, especially in the Philippines. In global terms, he was an innovative planner who grasped the future importance of the Pacific Rim for American security. MacArthur's self-promotion and lifelong defiance of authority were infuriating, but he also understood that there were red lines he could not cross. Herman presents a superb reexamination of MacArthur and his role in American history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)