Macarthur's War - by Stanley Weintraub (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Douglas MacArthur towers over twentieth-century American history. His fame is based chiefly on his World War II service in the Philippines. Yet Korea, America's forgotten war, was far more "MacArthur's War" -- and it remains one of our most brutal and frightening. In just three years thirty-five thousand Americans lost their lives -- more than three times the rate of losses in Vietnam. Korea, like Vietnam, was a breeding ground for the crimes of war. To this day, six thousand Americans remain MIA. It was Korea where American troops faced a Communist foe for the first time, as both China and the Soviet Union contributed troops to the North Korean cause. The war that nearly triggered the use of nuclear weapons reveals MacArthur at his most flamboyant, flawed, yet still, at times, brilliant.

Acclaimed historian Stanley Weintraub offers a thrilling blow-by-blow account of the key actions of the Korean War during the months of MacArthur's command. Our lack of preparedness for the invasion, our disastrous retreat to a corner of Korea, the daring landing at Inchon, the miscalculations in pursuing the enemy north, the headlong retreats from the Yalu River and Chosin Reservoir, and the clawing back to the 38th parallel, all can be blamed or credited to MacArthur. He was imperious, vain, blind to criticism, and so insubordinate that Truman was forced to fire him. Yet years later, the war would end where MacArthur had left it, at the border that still stands as one of history's last frontiers between communism and freedom.

MacArthur's War draws on extensive archival research, memoirs, and the latest findings from archives in the formerly communist world, to weave a rich tale in the voices of its participants. From MacArthur and his upper cadre, to feisty combat correspondent Maggie Higgins and her fellow journalists, to the grunts who bore the brunt of MacArthur's decisions, for good and ill, this is a harrowing account of modern warfare at its bloodiest. MacArthur's War is the gripping story of the Korean War and its soldiers -- and of the one soldier who dominated the rest.

Review Quotes

Bob Minzesheimer "USA Today" Weintraub vividly re-creates the first ten months of the Korean War -- from MacArthur's daring and successful amphibious landing at Inchon to his disastrous Chosin Reservoir campaign.

David M. Kennedy "The New York Times Book Review" For depicting the agony of the war on the ground and for cutting MacArthur down to size, this impassioned book has few equals.

John Lehman "The Wall Street Journal" An excellent book to read on the...anniversary of "The Forgotten War."

Brigadier General Edwin Howard Simmons (ret.),

Director Emeritus, Marine Corps History and author of "The United States Marines: A History"

Stanley Weintraub gives a fast-moving, vivid, and revealing account, in very human and personal terms, of the flawed genius of General Douglas MacArthur in his roller-coaster conduct of the first ten months of the Korean War.

D. Clayton James

author of "The Years of MacArthur"

A passionate account of the Far East chief's stewardship, surely one of the most vivid and penetrating critiques of The Great One that has been penned. Combining fresh insights and some often-overlooked sources, Weintraub mixes in his strong personal sentiments and masterful style to give us an unforgettable 'you are there' spellbinder.

Douglas Brinkley

Director of the Eisenhower Center and Professor of History at the University of New Orleans; author of "The American Heritage History of the United States"

With vivid clarity Stanley Weintraub retells the amazing story of General Douglas MacArthur's Cold War escapades in Korea. A fascinating, well-rendered history of the General who refuses to fade away.

About the Author

Stanley Weintraub is Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University and the author of notable histories and biographies including 11 Days in December, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, MacArthur's War, Long Day's Journey into War, and A Stillness Heard Round the World: The End of the Great War. He lives in Newark, Delaware