This first volume of a trilogy dedicated to the life of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur covers the years from his birth in 1880 until America's entry into World War II in 1941. MacArthur, the son of a Medal of Honor winning Union officer during the Civil War, is himself a brilliant, egotistical, vainglorious man who is his father's equal as a military leader. After graduating first in his class from West Point, he rises from relative obscurity in the Army during the years before World War I. During the "war to end wars" (1917-18), MacArthur proves himself a brilliant strategist and tactician, and an uncommonly brave field officer. He is promoted from Captain to Major General during the war, and wins several decorations, including the Distinguished Service Cross.
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Between the World Wars, MacArthur continues his steady rise in rank. By 1941, when he is 61 years old, MacArthur has retired from the Army and has decided to remain in the Philippines, where he has served for several years as America's military governor. On the eve of America's entry into World War II, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor having already been completed, MacArthur is found impatiently awaiting the expected attack on Manila.
D. Clayton James, the author of this masterful three-volume "Years of MacArthur," is widely recognized as the foremost authority on the life of this brilliant and controversial army general. These volumes are well researched and written and highly readable, although they lack the narrative flair of William Manchester's "American Caesar."
The review of this Book prepared by Mike Powers
