Team America: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and the World They Forged

Military analyst O’Connell (Revolutionary: George Washington at War) delivers an entertaining group biography of “the greatest group of generals ever to serve together in the U.S. Army, maybe any army, any time”: George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, and Dwight Eisenhower. Born within a decade of one another at the end of the 19th century, they became the chief architects of U.S. military strategy in the 20th century. Though Patton and MacArthur saw actual combat, all four possessed “an almost intuitive understanding of how armies in the millions actually functioned and fought.” O’Connell delves into their childhoods, marriages, and early professional achievements, detailing, for example, how Patton designed a new sword for the U.S. calvary and how Eisenhower successfully battled a Spanish flu outbreak at Pennsylvania’s Camp Colt during WWI. During WWII, they built alliances with Chiang Kai Shek and Mao Tzedong, invaded North Africa and Europe, recaptured the Philippines, and bombed Japan into submission. After the war, Marshall devised a plan to rebuild Europe, while MacArthur clashed with President Harry Truman over U.S. strategy in Korea. Though some readers may find O’Connell’s frequent sports analogies forced, he incisively analyzes these commanders’ strengths and weaknesses and their essential roles in transforming the U.S. Army. Military history buffs will be enthralled. (May)