Douglas MacArthur

Praise

Praise for Douglas MacArthur

“A rip-roaring biography . . . an exciting account of a grand old soldier, who, contrary to his mock-modest protestations, never seems to ‘fade away.’ . . . With Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior, the prolific and talented historian Arthur Herman has delivered an expertly rendered, compulsively readable account that does full justice to MacArthur’s monumental achievements without slighting his equally monumental flaws.”—Max Boot, Commentary
 
“Unfailingly evocative . . . close to an epic . . . More than a biography, it is a tale of a time in the past almost impossible to contemplate today as having taken place, with MacArthur himself as a figure perhaps too remote to understand, but all the more important to encounter.”—The New Criterion
 
“Herman presents a superb reexamination of MacArthur and his role in American history.”—Booklist (Starred Review)
 
“Arthur Herman peels back the layers of myth to reveal the marrow of this man’s career in his powerful new history, Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior. . . . [This book] stands above two dozen previous biographies on MacArthur due to Herman’s well-researched, balanced evaluation. He has drawn upon vast sources, including Soviet and Chinese archives and even Jean MacArthur’s private oral history. . . . American Warrior is engaging throughout and significant in capturing the brilliance of a man whose vision helped define the United States in the twentieth century and beyond.”—The Dallas Morning News
 
“This is revisionist history at its best and, hopefully, will reopen a debate about the judgment of history and MacArthur’s place in history.”—New York Journal of Books
 
“To capture the life of such an outsize figure in one volume is no small achievement. With Douglas MacArthur, Arthur Herman has set a new standard for untangling the legacy of this American legend.”—Bookreporter

“Many books have been written about General MacArthur’s leadership and bravery, but this one has brought to the fore his seminal contributions to geopolitics: that he foresaw the growing importance of Asia to the United States and to a rapidly changing world. . . . A compelling new biography.”—Henry A. Kissinger 

“With clarity of vision and honest conviction, Arthur Herman has painted an important and enduring portrait of an enigmatic and essential American life. Douglas MacArthur was, with the Roosevelts, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman, one of the most globally influential figures of the nation’s rise to imperial status. Herman’s excellent book is readable, engaging, and timely.”—Jon Meacham, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Destiny and Power
 
“Douglas MacArthur was brilliant and arrogant, captivating and infuriating. He smote America’s enemies and vexed America’s leaders. He is a wonderful subject for biography, and in Arthur Herman he has found a wonderful biographer: thorough, balanced, insightful, and engaging. This is the best life of MacArthur in a generation.”—H. W. Brands, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and author of Reagan: The Life
 
“Arthur Herman has achieved two near-impossible coups with this well-researched, well-written, and groundbreaking book. He has managed to present Douglas MacArthur in a fully rounded, properly objective way that doesn’t fall into the hagiography or revisionism of so many previous biographies, and he also reestablishes MacArthur’s central place among the greats of the Allied high command, alongside Dwight Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the other giant figures of World War Two. This book is a towering achievement.”—Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War
 
“A sympathetic yet fair portrayal of a majestic but forever controversial figure. It remains indisputable that Douglas MacArthur led one of the most interesting and consequential lives of the twentieth century, and this fine biography captures all its scope and significance.”—Robert L. O’Connell, author of Fierce Patriot