Customer Reviews

Nineteen Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership

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"Nineteen Stars" is not intended to be the definitive biographies of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Marshall, and Patton, but rather a study of their leadership styles illustrated with specific examples. Puryear provides enough background information on each general to put the various decisions and actions into an understandable context. As a study of leadership and management styles of four successful but very different military leaders, this book accomplishes its goals. Puryear gives the reader adequate appreciation of these general officers and the contributions they made, not to just the war effort, but to the military in general.

Again, this is not intended to be full-blown biographies on these military leaders, but rather a leadership study for young officers and officer candidates. However, this book will serve as an able introduction to the lives of these fascinating men, and will probably inspire a broader audience than just military members to look into more indepth works on these key leaders.

Written for the education of cadets and young officers, this valuable work studies the lives and careers of Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, and Patton, through their own eyes and the recollections of hundreds of others who worked with them and knew them personally.
Elements common to their success are examined in detail, not only the thorough preparation and capacity for work one expects, but the more subtle qualities of character, and, of course, luck.
Admirably organized and highly readable, Puryear's work should prove useful not only to the target readership and students of military history, but also to anyone interested in questions of leadership and success in any field.
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I read this book slowly, marking it up and making notations throughout, as principles expounded came to light. These men had to make high pressure decisions, the result of which were stupendous! They were in positions that required sterling character. The ramifications of their conclusions were paramount. The fate of the free world hung on the balance the situation was desperate.

In this study of 19 stars of military character I truly found gold nuggets of wisdom. Principles that are invaluable tools which will assist you to set the sail in your life, and then to get to where you want to go.

This is an excellent work comparing the four leading American generals of WW2 who earned a total of 19 stars among them. The author traces their careers in the Army, recognizing all showed as cadets, character and leadership qualities. Marshall, the brains behind the war, had developed the ablity to listen to his subordinates, delegated authority as far as possible, and tried to keep his hands off. Eisenhower was cut from the same cloth and cited "selflessness" as key to leadership. Both of these generals were more chairman of the board types in constrast to Patton and MacArthur. The Author credits MacArthur with the creation of the modern general staff during his tenure as chief of staff in the 1930's. Patton was found on his belly repairing a broken tank with his men, directing unloading on the beach in North Africa under fire. With MacArthur, he shared no fear of dying in combat. Despite differences in personalities and leadership styles, all four shared common attributes: they took blame on themselves and gave credit for sucess to others. All shared a devout belief in God. MacArthur said, "God led me by the hand". Patton limited sermons by his chaplins to ten minutes but always said his prayers before bed. Ike had a strict religious upbringing which followed him all his life. Marshall showed an acute concern for the spiritual welfare of his men. And all four of them were never known to vote in their military careers!.

It is doubtful we will ever see this quality of leadership in this politically correct world we live in. All of them, with the exception of Eisenhower would have been weeded out by the rank of Captain. When the next war starts we will need them but they aren't going to come out of West Point, as we have feminized the military so much we are never going to see the likes of these four men with 19 stars amongst them.

Nineteen Stars is a laconic, discerning, and professional analysis of the factors which made Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshal, and Patton the first-rate military leaders they were. The author's extensive interviews and correspondence have revealed many anecdotes and experiences which are published here for the first time. It is a most interesting, comprehensive and accurate delineation of four of our country's greatest military leaders and the qualities of military leadership. This classic study presents the testimony of hundreds of old friends, classmates, subordinates, and superiors of the four great World War II leaders

"19 Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership" is a wonderful study of the leadership styles of four of the most prominent generals in World War II: MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and Patton. It gives a brief synopsis of each of their biographies then goes on to address how they handled themselves in different facets of leadership such as dealing with subordinates, character, courage, and preparation. It pays great attention to how they each used a different style to accomplish the same thing which was defeating fascism and winning the greatest war the world has ever fought.

I particularly enjoyed how each leader is contrasted. The most interesting part of the book for me was when Mr. Puryear compared and contrasted them. It was interesting how they were all so different yet so alike. They came from extremely diverse backgrounds, but they all found common ground in the military. The book is well written and would provide useful insight to anyone studying military leadership, WW-II, or leadership in general. I recommend it.

It is written in such a way that you don't have to be a military historian to enjoy reading about Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, and Patton. It talks about these men as people and explains who they are not just what they did. I have recommended this book to many people.

Outstanding book! How do you compare four of the greatest generals in history? That's like comparing the stars in the sky! When you compare General's Geoge C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, and George Patton, you find that each had his own strengths, likes, dislikes, and individual personalities which were all brought together by destiny to produce victory for the allies during WWII. No two were alike. Marshall was disciplined; MacArthur was innovative; Eisenhower was a consensus-builder; Patton was bold and flamboyant. Each was a unique individual, and took just the right measure of themselves and their resources to produce the eventual allied victory.

A friend loaned me a thirty-year old copy of Nineteen Stars and I loved every page. I kept thinking I wish I had had this book when I was a new Army officer. We can argue about whether leaders are born or made, but no matter where you stand on the issue, it is unquestionably helpful for leaders at all levels to understand, and where appropriate, emulate great leaders. I bought my own copy of the book and I plan to save it for my infant grandson.

I served with Cotton Puryear, the Author's Son, in Desert Storm in 1990-1991. Cotton was the XO of G Troop 2/3 ACR (and a very good one - obviously learned some lessons from Dad). I was a green 2LT just out of the basic course. Cotton loaned me his copy of the book, it was one of the first books on Military leadership I read outside of a classroom and it was exceptional. It was particulalry appropriate for me as a young officer soon to face combat to learn from the greats. The book is very readable and I think should be at the top of any aspiring officer or business executives list who want to learn lessons in leadership from some of our greatest military leaders. Cotton - if you read this send me an e-mail! Brave Rifles!