The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks
The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks
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The Generals
American Military Command from World War II to Today

Author: Thomas E. Ricks

Narrator: William Hughes

Unabridged: 12 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/30/2012


Synopsis

History has been kinder to the American generals of World War IIMarshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradleythan to the generals of the wars that followed. Is this merely nostalgia? Here,Thomas E. Ricks answers the question definitively: No, it is not, in no small part because of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. During World War II, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough. InThe Generalswe meet great leaders and suspect ones, generals who rose to the occasion and those who failed themselves and their soldiers. Marshall and Eisenhower cast long shadows over this story, but no single figure is more inspiring than Marine General O. P. Smith, whose fighting retreat from the Chinese onslaught into Korea in 1950 snatched a kind of victory from the jaws of annihilation. But Smiths courage and genius in the face of one of the grimmest scenarios the marines have ever faced only cast the shortcomings of the people who put him there in sharper relief.If Korea showed the first signs of a culture that neither punished mediocrity nor particularly rewarded daring, the Vietnam War saw American military leadership bottom out. In the wake of Vietnam, a battle for the soul of the US Army was waged with impressive success. It became a transformed institution, reinvigorated from the bottom up. But if the body was highly toned, its head still suffered from familiar problems, resulting in tactically savvy but strategically obtuse leadership that would win battles but end wars badly. Ricks has made a close study of Americas military leaders for three decades, and in his hands this story resounds with larger meaning: the transmission of values, strategic thinking, the difference between an organization that learns and one that fails. Military history of the highest quality,The Generalsis also essential reading for anyone with an interest in the difference between good leaders and bad ones.

About Thomas E. Ricks

Thomas E. Ricks is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including the # 1 bestseller Fiasco, a history of the beginning of the Iraq War. As a reporter at the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, he was a member of two teams that won the Pulitzer Prize. He worked in the Maine woods in his youth and trapped lobsters when living on an island in Penobscot Bay. He now divides his time between Texas and Maine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mara on February 08, 2017

I am in no way well-versed in military history. My curiosity about the generals involved in WWII was piqued by my recent reading of The War. So, when I came across this work by Thomas E. Ricks, I thought it just might fit the bill. While I was able to follow Ricks’ overall thesis (which I'll get......more

Goodreads review by KOMET on March 08, 2025

This book fully lives up to its billing. It begins by highlighting the state of the U.S. Army as it was upon the outbreak of the Second World War and the promotion of George Catlett Marshall as Army Chief of Staff. Marshall, while not a West Point graduate as were many of his contemporaries, had mad......more

Goodreads review by Mike on December 07, 2012

Senior Leadership in the Senior Service - The Generals by Tom Ricks. “You don't necessarily get to go to war with the Generals you want" - anonymous Sergeant Major in Baghdad, circa 2006 This is an important book on an important topic and one that should resonate with any Soldier who served in our Arm......more

Goodreads review by Scott on March 06, 2021

Excellent synopsis and level headed analysis on each one of them. I couldn't help but think of the fictional Malazan Army while reading this and thinking about how the tactical marines would have faired much better in different campaigns. Erikson definitely uses a lot of history.......more

Goodreads review by Jean on April 30, 2015

I found this book most interesting particularly the difference between Marine Corp leadership and the Army during the Korean War. Thomas Ricks compares the Army of WWII to the military of today, particularly looking at how General Marshall dealt with command officers compared to today. General George......more