Customer Reviews

Twentieth Century American Biography Series: George C. Marshall

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Barely 200 pages in length, this book isn't comprehensive enough to do justice to Marshall's life and accomplishments. However, as an overview with more attention paid to the years 1939-51, this book is the best place to start when learning about General Marshall's accomplishments once he reached high command and his two cabinet positions. Mark Stoller does manage to convey in such a short work, the impact Marshall's life has had on America and the world and how we are still feeling that impact. If interested in Marshall's early years in the Army, Forrest Pogue's work is still the best, but this book is a good introduction to the life of a great man.

Yes! At times. This is simply a superb book about a great man. A truly great man. Yet so few people know about him. We are very lucky to have a wonderful biography such as this published about such a truly superb gentleman. Today, the "in thing" is to talk about values. Values, values, values. I feel that George Marshall was the greatest American of this century. It is a priceless gift that the biographer has given us in a beautifullt printed format. Extremely well written and, best of all, totally objective! Marshall was a bigger military giant than Eisenhower, Patton, or MacArthur. In fact, during World War II, he was so greatly needed that President Roosevelt gave him a choice about becoming the supreme commander of all allied forces in Europe. Either he could do so, or stay in Washington where he was much more valued. He virtually ran everything except for FDR. One choice meant giving up fame and glory for the likes of you and me. The other choice meant

glory, fame, and 20 biographies written about him that you can buy at Amazon.com. Knowing that he was more greatly needed in Washington than in London, he gave up his life's dream. He handed the star role to Eisenhower. Who, as many of us know, became president as the result of Marshall's decision. Here are some of what this man was: 1) He never lied! (talk about values). 2) He never cheated on his wife (both Eisenhower and Patton were not so lucky). 3) He never killed anyone. (He stated that "10 minutes of combat are 10 minutes too many"). He was a true blue gent. And when is values were being walked over, he told off numero unos General Pershing, President Roosevelt, and President Truman! In the first two cases, he expected to be fired. He burned his war time journals after the war because he did not want to hurt anybody. That was the caliber of the man. Yet he could be very ruthless when he thought what he was doing was right. In preperation for World War II, and as Commander-in-Chief, he kept a black notebook for prospective "young" generals. He didn't want the U.S. saddled down with "old men" sending young boys into battle. In his notebook were the names of Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, and many others. And when war broke out, he turned his back on all his peers and gave the "key positions" to the young bloods. After the war, he was the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State in the Truman administration. The Marshall Plan was not named after Marshall Dillon in Gunsmoke! He created the means for building up all of Europe after World War Two. He was virtually worshipped by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. And like Einstein and William Randolph Hearst, was an admirer of Gandhi! The biographer does not try to make any points. Does not try to hammer any "message" home. He does what all really good biographers do and simply tells you what happened in this man's life. Anyone interested in U.S. history can read all the books about the "pop heroes" such as Patton and Eisenhower, but they won't get the entirety of the picture until they deeply know about this man. Churchill also worshipped Marshall. Thank God one person spent enough time and energy to write about him. Thank you. Very much.

Mark Stoler writes a concise account of the life and accomplishments of George C. Marshall, one of the greatest soldiers and statesmen in U.S. history. The opening lines in chapter one describe how Marshall was the only professional soldier to receive the Nobel Peace prize. Stoler's work provides inspiration to not only those in uniform, but also diplomats and others interested in leadership in general. I found the book highly readable, succinct, yet having the detailed notes that provide guidance for further reading. It is well worth the read.

Stoler's work comes in at just under two hundred pages, but adds depth with extensive notes for the reader who wishes to pursue more details on the life and accomplishments of General Marshall. The author leans heavily on Forrest C. Pogue, Marshall's official biography, and others who have written extensively on the leader and World War II. The book also features a chronology of Marshall's life, two sets of photos, a bibliographic essay, and an index.

I found the chapter on Marshall's time as Secretary of State to be extremely interesting. He not only garnered passage of the European Recovery Plan ("Marshall Plan") during his tenure, but he also helped negotiate the Rio Pact and Organization of American States, witnessed Tito's Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, opposed the Soviet blockade of Berlin, and supported the creation of NATO. Marshall's immense impact on world affairs can still be felt in Western Europe and elsewhere, as his military and diplomatic efforts set the stage for international relations for the remainder of the 20th century.

As a military leader, I found this to be great reading and a good source for future reading on General Marshall. Read Stoler's work if you are a student of history or enjoy reading about leadership. Highly recommended!

This is a perfectly unobjectionable book outlining Gen. Marshall's life and military and political careers. It did strike me as being rather cursory in a number of areas and does not go very far in terms of the motivations and character of its subject. Undoubtedly this is in part because Marshall left very little in the way of written reminiscences of his own and kept a studied distance from those with whom he worked. As such, it leaves a bit to be desired as an in-depth biography. Nonetheless, it is well written, fair in its viewpoint and can be read within a couple of evenings. It is certainly a fine introduction to Marshall, but a reader looking for a comprehensive treatment of his life might well select one of the longer alternatives.

As other reviewers note, Marshall was one of the greatest men of the 20th century and a model of what our leaders should be. The author does not engage in hagiography, but instead provides a concise view of this man's life in its historical context. Unfortunately, I was hoping for something more comprehensive, yet not as massive as Pogue's exhaustive (exhausting) work.

Stoller does a good job of describing the footprint that Marshall left upon the world, but not enough about him as a man.

For myself as a guide at the George C. Marshall Museum in Lexington, VA Stoler's book is a MUST read. Mine is marked up and worn, but is a source of information I couldn't do without. I recommend it to anyone interested in the life of George C. Marshall, the kind of hero we need more of today. I used his book as a guide and reference in writing Growing Up,By George!George C. Marshall's early years(1880-1901) for ages 9-12

The book by Stoler is an excellent,albeit somewhat abbreviated account of the life of Marshall. The format, which discusses a time period and its relevance in US History and the life of Marshall was an excellent choice by the author. The only place it falls short, in my opinion, is in that its not really a critical review - the author never really analyzed Marshall's actions and took him to task for anything, and I find it hard to believe that, while a great man, Marshall never did anything wrong. Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to understand US military and foreign policy in the 20th century needs to read this book.

Before reading this book I did not have a very high opinion of George Marshall. You never heard much of anything he did. The Battle Field Generals of WW2 took much of the show. However after reading another book about Ike where he talked a little about Marshall I decided to give him another look and I am glad I did. Marshall was a truly outstanding general and patriot of the highest kind. But so humble that he would not even accept awards or leave his own story written by him. Getting back to the book, it was written very well. One of those books you just cannot put down. Naturally it takes you through his early years, West Point, the lean years of the army. But it also goes through the most difficult times of WW2. Without Marshall we would not have been prepared for WW2 and many of the command and control items are still used today. But just when you think it was over and Marshall would fad into history the President called him back on the civilian side and he was wonderful. If the book told you nothing else about Marshall it would be that he could not say no! You have to read it and I promise you will never be bored of regret it.

This is a good biography of the general. If you want more in depth read the masterpiece four volume biography by Forrest Pogue.

As others have noted, this is a very readable biography focusing the military and political accomplishments of on of America's greatest generals. The book is written in a very straightforward way and does not dwell on Marshall's early life to a great degree nor on his personal life in general. Given the figure's penchant for privacy and his destruction of his private papers, I am not sure if too much more information is really at hand, which is a shame.

Definitely a good biography for anyone interested learning more about this less cited man or in the development of the military and its relations to the political system from World War I through to Korea.