In 1941 the United States of America started fighting the expansionism of the Japanese Empire during World War II. We needed a man who could win the war, save as many soldiers as possible and make the American people proud of their choice. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made a smart choice. He chose General Douglas McArthur, the man would win World War II, make Japan the economic powress it has become, and charmed the American people with his great voice after Korea. This is the life of a man, who many people think, he should have been God, this is the life of General Douglas McArthur.

Manchester has produced a book that covers the entire life of the controversial five star general, from his infancy to his death, in the finest of detail and in a lively literary style. - If you want to know about MacArthur, this is the book for you. The author very carefully presents facts about the general and lets you the reader make up your mind on where the truth lies. Manchester does not appear to "take sides" in this book; he does not take the general and make him a god, nor does he denigrate what the general has done. He presents the many sides of this mysterious general and lets you, the reader, put it all together which is not difficult, since Manchester provides you the tools to do it: plenty of rich detail, plenty of quotes, excerpts of memos and messages, much detail on his private family life. Again, Manchester does not tell the reader what to think. For example, with the fall of the Philippnes, it seems that the general has made up his mind to stay and, along with his family, expects in a matter-of-fact way to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner by the Japanese. You wonder about his wife and child, but Manchester doesn't tell you what they want to do: he lets them speak. - An excellent biography and significant historical account. Probably the best ever on MacArthur whether you like the general or not.

The book is alive and very interesting. It is like reading a newspaper and not a rendition of the facts about a dead man's life. It is inspiring to read how the general overcame every obstacle to achieve his goals. I have read the book more than once.

David Valley's book, "Gaigin Shogun ..," is great fun and an easy read. At the same time it makes you think about things you may not have thought about before. I never realized how much of the Japanese miracle recovery was attributable to the manner in which the occupational forces governed Japan after the war. Also the excerpts of the writings by MacArthur made the message crisp and believable. It leaves one in awe of MacArthur, and feeling that he may have been one of the most under appreciated hero's of our past. Valley did a fine job. Definitely worth reading.

The author did an excellent job in pointing out the accomplishments of General Douglas MacArthur in Japan. I, also,was one of the General's Honor Guard. David and I went over events during of our tours of duty both before and after the author's assignment of how MaArthur was bringing the Japanese back into the United Nations fold as an upstanding nation. I was delighted to read what he had written , but how well he had written it.

When we compared notes, it became amazing to each of us how slowly the progress was at first. Perhaps, items such as the Marshall Plan and Harry Bridges "Long Shoremans strike" that lasted for over seventeen months. Nobody saw a real potatoe for over six months. Not that anyone suffered for it. Japanese national progress did accelerated over the following short years.

The personal climate to all of us including Mrs MacArthur was that we were unafraid to walk among the Japanese from the very first moments we where there at any time , day or night. There was seldom a case of anamosity shown. The Japanese were model citizens. This is a illustration of how well MacArthurs policies were performing.

The author was factual, brief and very accurate with details. He created each scene with actual quotations from the General about verbal discriptions. The General took all his problems in his stride. The resolve was contigious. When it came to authority, the author precisely depicted the attitudes and backgrounds of the British and the Russians and the worst party of all, our own State Department. He was candid. The General was skillful in his steps that he took. He had spent too much time in the houses of power to be careless with the heads of state and worse their correspondants.

In total, the book is a good comprehensive story of the General who did an extraordinary job of uplifting the country of a former enemy. After all his seventy years of preparation, his experience prepared him well for the task. It is noted that it has not been repeated since the reigns of Alexander the Great and Julis Ceasar.

I have read two other books on the General and listened to another on Books on Tape. Mr. Valley's book is easily the best, probably because he was really there not learning about it from a library. Brilliant insights and personal details fill this magnificent work. Get it! Enjoy it!

Larry Durbin, Captain, United Airlines

"Dear General MacArthur" is a wonderful and very illuminating compilation of letters written by the Japanese to Gen. MacArthur during the American Occupation (1945-1952). Sodei's running commentary alongside the letters is full of powerful insight and helpful explanations which allow the reader to genuinely understand how, and why the Japanese wrote the General with their praise, adoration, pleas, and criticism regarding him and the occupation. It is a "must" read for any who are interested in, or are students of Japanese culture. The letters are moving, incredible, sad, and hilarious. Never in world history did a country ever "love" MacArthur as much as the Japanese did after WWII. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning and illustrious historian of Japan, John W. Dower notes in his foreword, "This is a rare gem of a book. We have nothing else like it concerning Japan." Compiled and expounded by the foremost authority on, and biographer of MacArthur, it is a book that all should enjoy.

This book is concise, yet extremely informative. Richard H. Rovere and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. prove to be a great match in writing the "General and the President." The book opens on a brief note on General Douglas Macarthur's early military history, followed by the outbreak of the Korean war, and the origins and climax of the feud between General Macarthur and President Harry Truman. It comes complete with maps of Korea, political cartoons from the era, and a well documented appendix consisting of speeches, conversations, and testimonies from key government officials of the time. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Korean War and the famous feud.

A seminal book about a WWII campaign that achieved nothing of strategic significance except to boost Gen. MacArthur's personal standing as well as diverting US military forces from a direct thrust at Japan. Oddly enough, only military operations from after Operation Cartwheel, which included the bloody Buna campaign, is covered. Interested readers on the related Australian operations including the Kokoda trail, as well as follow-on operations in the Philippines will have to look elsewhere. A clear prerequisite for reading and enjoying this book is to have read "American Caesar" by William Manchester which gives the background to the complex relationships between all the personalities involved. The almost deadly duel between MacArthur and Admiral King over overall strategy and logistics is highlighted, with Admiral Nimitz being pushed into the background. The race between MacArthur's and Nimitz's rival thrusts towards the Japanese Empire being one of the main themes here. The book constantly harps on MacArthur's obsession with getting back to the Philippines. Thus, in his race to beat the US Navy to the China-Luzon-Formosa area, MacArthur is criticised for moving too fast up the northern coast of PNG before securing his bases for staging the next amphibious landings. He doesn't appear to have endeared himself to the men doing the fighting but achieved his objectives in record time and with remarkably low casualty rates for the whole campaign. As MacArthur did not know about the Manhattan Project, he cannot be faulted for his strategic planning based largely on the then known technology as well as current US military capability. As it was, the atomic bombs were the strategic weapons that decisively ended the Pacific War. This remarkable book goes somewhere towards setting the record straight and giving due credit to the many forgotten servicemen who performed gallantly or gave their lives in this little-known campaign. The maps are clear, concise and relate well to the text.

I was shocked to find out just how much the Communists were involved with WWII in the US, and even more so in the Korean War. The loss of China to the Communists after WWII was also documented.

The McCarthy hearings came much too late!!

This book made me re-think some strong opinons on FDR and others that I had previously held.

It is a sad fact that many people in this day and age would be unable to state who Douglas MacArthur was or what place in history he has assumed. As the Second World War drifts further into the annals of history, the lives and accomplishments of the war's great commanders are in danger of , as MacArthur himself said "slowly fading away".

Douglas MacArthur was a colossus. He did not merely play an important role in the war in the Pacific, he dominated it and went on to play a crucial role in the West's early response to Communism in the Far East. William Manchester's exhaustive biography paints a warts and all portrait of the General. Manchester expresses rightful admiration for MacArthur's strategic brilliance and his amazing role in the recontstruction of post-war Japan. Yet, he does not shy away from criticism of MacArthur's extraordinary vanity which, in many cases, almost led (and during the Korean War did lead) to the General's downfall. I finished the book far more enlightened on the character of this individual and yet was left to draw my own conclusions as to his place in history.

Manchester's book is not just an immensely readable, throughly documented portrait of Douglas MacArthur. It also serves as a valuable work on the prosecution of the war in the Pacific and the early years of the Cold War and draws some very valuable and raises some interesting questions on the origin of America's entry into the war in Vietnam.

Individuals such as Douglas MacArthur should not be forgotten. Love them or hate them, they played a critical role in the history of the 20th Century and to the lives which each and every one of us live today. "American Casear" does justice to all aspects of Douglas MacArthur's life and character and I have no doubts that it will fascinate anyone who picks it up.

5 stars without any hesitation whatsoever.

William Manchester's American Caesar is a nicely polished and thoroughly researched book covering the career of General Douglas MacArthur, arguably the most controversial and one of the best U.S. military leaders of the Twentieth Century. Manchester covers MacArthur's life from his early childhood to his death at age 84 in 1964. MacArthur's remarkable life and career spans the time from his youth spent on remote western military posts in the 1880's, through the two World Wars and the Korean Conflict, and his subsequent dismissal by President Truman and entry into GOP politics.

Douglas MacArthur was perfectly bred for military leadership and his future historical role. The son of a Civil War recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and Military Governor of the Philippines, Douglas MacArthur surpassed even his father's amazing military and historical accomplishments. Manchester argues that MacArthur had a unique genius for military operations, from his quick promotion at age 38 to the command of the Rainbow Division in World War I, to his campaigns in the Pacific and his bold invasion at Inchon in the Korean War. MacArthur's military capabilities conceivably saved thousands of American lives. Typically his military moves were cunning and daring, bypassing enemy strongpoints and leading to victories at lower costs in terms of lives than operations undertaken by his U.S. military contemporaries.

The book's title, American Caesar, uniquely describes MacArthur's career as the liberator of the Philippines and the Military administrator of Japan. Perhaps no other American in history has held the type of power that MacArthur held in Japan as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. Yet his immense power was wielded with grace and an understanding of the Japanese people and their culture. MacArthur's long service in Asia uniquely suited him to this role.

MacArthur's weaknesses which ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of President Truman are explored. MacArthur learned that great military exploits are often achieved by acting against the will or explicit instructions of his superiors. Combining this trait with an immense ego, MacArthur's showdown with President Truman was almost unavoidable. This led to his firing and a lasting feud with Truman that ultimately tarnished MacArthur's reputation despite his incredible career and service.

Manchester presents MacArthur as a complex figure full of contradictions. MacArthur is shown as a warrior who exposed himself to extreme danger, but was often derisively referred to as "Dugout Doug" when he vainly surrounded himself with luxurious surroundings in his headquarters. He instituted liberal democratic reforms in Japan, then became a hard line conservative spokesman in the United States. By illuminating these contradictions inherent in MacArthur's personality, William Manchester presents General Douglas MacArthur's long and eventful life in a book which makes interesting and exciting reading.

"American Caesar" is a highly literate, extremely well researched biography of General Douglas MacArthur. Since the General's Army career spanned almost 50 years, the time sweep of "AC" is quite extensive, but Mr. Manchester maintains reader interest throughout. As a work of history, it should qualify as a masterpiece. The strongest point of "AC" is that the persona of the General never gets lost in a sea of facts or too many characters. It remains a biography, first and foremost. The reader always is aware that s(he) is reading about a human being- with strong points and weak points just like all of us. I was impressed with the obvious importance of family, especially his wife and son to the General. Major historical figures like F.D.R. and Harry Truman take a backseat to the main character. Some readers might maintain that is exactly where they belong! While "AC" covers the General's heroism in World War I, the focus is on his military campaigns in World War II. Great detail is given to his controversial and hazardous- initial retreat from the Philippines to Australia and his push back north, capturing strategic New Guinea and retaking the Philippines. To his credit, author Manchester, a former Marine, strives to demonstrate that the General's tactics saved thousands of U.S. casualties, compared to the frontal assaults on other Pacific islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For example, the General bypassed and isolated the strong Japanese garrison on Rabaul in eastern New Guinea, rather than attack in force. He also talked the Navy and Marines down from a senseless, hazardous and tactically useless invasion of Formosa (Taiwan). His casualty rates are also compared very favorably to those incurred by General Dwight Eisenhower at Normandy and the Bulge. (The two did not exactly admire one another). If there are any weak points in "AC", they are minor. One could argue that the bio of the General is not sufficiently critical, but this reader would defer license to a talented author. One could also argue that too much space is allocated to the General's troubles with Harry Truman during the Korean War. Since so many identify the General with that particular segment of his career, it would be difficult for Manchester to pass lightly over it. (The author does not exactly admire HST). A note of warning: The MAPS in the paperback version of "AC" are too small for a close following of the SW Pacific War. If amazon could offer a large print/ hardcover version of "AC", the extra cost would be worth it. I used a magnifying glass! Inadequate maps seem to be a requirement for military tales "AC" has plenty of company in this regard. I hope this review has done credit to a first rate work of historical biography. Over 844 pages, followers of history and military affairs will not be disappointed.

Jay Marsh is a young, idealistic, Army Captain who has been assigned to Douglas McArthur's staff. We follow him from the time of McArthur's return to liberate the Phillipines in early 1945 and through the beginning of the peacetime Japanese occupation. Jay is privy to all of McArthur's inside politics and in-fighting, and in the beginning he finds it heady stuff. However Jay finds that the power he weilds in McArthur's name soon disillusion him and threaten to ruin his future with his beautiful Filipina fiancee.

Mr. Webb is an excellent writer. His sense of place is very strong and he easily convinces us we're right there as the battle for Leyte is being fought. It's also obvious he knows Japanese culture. The historical background seems to be very well done. If he's taken liberties with history I'm not aware of it. If you like historical fiction, especially as it applies to WWII I'd recommend this book. It will give you insights into an era that's usually not covered in great detail. It's also an entertaining story.

Jim Webb has weaved a fascinating novel around the real history of the Japanese occupation, MacArthur's brilliance, his vanity, weaknesses, palace intrigues, and within it all gives us a love story that deals with ethics and morals and touches the heart. But the greatest gift that Webb delivers in this book is to return honor to Japannese General Yamishita, The Tiger of Malaya, whose "murder" by a MacArthur controlled kangaroo court has laid in the backwash of American history for 50 years. This story alone is worth the price and the time to read it. The Emperor's General should be required reading in every high school in America and in every law school ethics course. The story told is outstanding. And Jim Webb's Marine's sense of Honor is at the root.

Ray L. Walker

Seems to me that the people who would read this book are white, middle-class conservative men with some link to the military--sorry about the generalization if it seems unfair. Moreover, the book is written in that unsophisticated prose style that I usually associate with popular consumer fiction, not "real" literature. But I thoroughly enjoyed this work and was surprised at Webb's historical accuracy and addressing of themes in US-Japan relationships--unpleasant facts that have only been written about in recent scholarly books about collusive ties between the US and post-War Japan (cf. Dower's "Embracing Defeat" and the new Hirohito biography). Well, seems like Webb and others in the US military are well aware of MacArthur's personal and political faults as well (or maybe just the Marines). Happened to run across an obituary in the New York Times of one of the US defense attorneys of the wrongfully indicted Japanese general, which verified every one of Webb's narrative details! Gen. MacArthur's character comes to life and his arrogance is inextricably linked to the way he established US military policy toward East Asia's Pacific Crescent, a restructuring of Japan's own WWII Economic Co-Prosperity Sphere imperialism, but this time American style. The prose is smoothly-paced and highly readable; I whipped through this book in no time. As someone who has no connection to the world of men like Webb (whom I assumed represents the military elite who served in Vietnam and came to public attention in the Reagan-era Iran-Contra scandal), I was not only pleasantly surprised, but extremely impressed. I think this is an engaging, intriguing piece of work. Webb should be commended for producing a fascinating narrative that will stimulate and satisfy the minds of both lay reader and history buff alike.

Informative and the most self serving narration ever made by and about a single American. Live a lifetime with the general and know what it is to never have made a mistake, never willingly to have submitted to legitimate authority, and never, and I mean NEVER, to have credited anyone else for the success of what ,in most military operations are shared endeavors.

"Reminiscences" is General Douglas MacArthur's brief in support of his life and career as they stand in judgment before the Bar of History. His statement of facts is magnificent. Beginning with his immigrant grandfather, Judge Arthur MacArthur, and continuing through the career of his father, Gen. Arthur MacArthur, (see my Amazon review of "The General's General"), Douglas sets the stage for his entry into the great play of life. Growing up in the frontier army, Douglas was admitted to West Point in 1899.

Not a typical cadet or young officer, Douglas made his first appearance before a Congressional committee investigating hazing at the Academy in 1900. Graduating in 1903, his first assignment was to the Philippines, the land in which his father had won fame and where he would spend so much of his military career. In 1906 he was appointed aide-de-camp to President Theodore Roosevelt.

With U. S. entry into World War I, MacArthur bucked the prevailing wisdom that National Guard units could not function effectively in combat. It was he who conceived, promoted and implemented the concept of the Rainbow Division, consisting of National Guard units from 26 states. During his command of the Rainbow he established the legend of his fearlessness in combat.

Returning to the peace time army, MacArthur rose to Chief of Staff, a position from which, he believed, his father had been barred by political enemies. During his tenure, Douglas presided over the dispersal of the Bonus Marchers, an action which he staunchly defends in this book, and the defense the Army from the Depression-era budget cutting knife. During one meeting with FDR, MacArthur erupted with an immediately regretted remark that has become part of the MacArthur legend, "to the general effect that when we lost the next war, and an American boy, lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat, spat out his last curse, I wanted the name not to be MacArthur, but Roosevelt." Although he claims to have immediately regretted the remark, he did find it worth reporting.

His career in the U.S. Army seemingly concluded, MacArthur retired in 1935 to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army. In this position he built the Philippine Defenses in the years leading up to World War II. In his soon to be familiar role of advocate for Pacific defense against a Eurocentered defense establishment, he struggled to obtain funding necessary to prepare the Philippines for the anticipated Japanese onslaught. When the pre-war build up began it was too little, too late.

With the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, MacArthur relates the plans for defense which culminated in the heroic stands on Bataan and Corregidor. From this narrative we realize how serious was the defenders' expectation of a relief expedition before their surrender.

The brilliant campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines are explained. Through this campaign, MacArthur shrewdly advanced his forces as rapidly as his advancing air cover would permit, isolating Japanese troops which would be starved of supplies rather than overrun by assault. By use of this technique, MacArthur conquered immense territory and neutralized massive concentrations of enemy troops while taking relatively few casualties. On the pages of this book, MacArthur takes us into the conferences in which the plans for the war in the Pacific were charted.

With Victory over Japan, MacArthur assumed the role of ruler of Japan. During the section of the book dealing with this portion of his life, we see the challenges which he confronted and the steps which reformed Japan into the nation which it is today.

The chapter "Frustration in Korea" signals a decided shift in the mood of the book. Here we read of the desperate state of defense during the early stages of the North Korean invasion, followed by the complete U.N. victory over North Korea after the landings at Inchon. With the Red Chinese invasion of Korea, the second retreat began. Again MacArthur masterminded the U.N. defense. Here criticism of the Truman Administration accelerates in the accounts leading up to and following MacArthur's dismissal from command.

In the final section, MacArthur shares with us his views of developments in America and the world. We hear of his shock at the substitution of prolonged indecision for victory as a national war goal. More than once we are reminded that "There is no substitute for victory." In digressions, we also learn his views on the employment of Nationalist Chinese Forces during the Korean War, as well as his views on relationships with Communism, the importance of freedom, the role of the income tax and other issues. His arguments leave us with the lingering thought that perhaps Red China would have been vulnerable to a determined defense in Korea, bombings and blockade of the mainland and an unleashing of the Nationalist Forces. It is one of the great "What ifs" of history. Near the end of the book we are treated to the transcripts of his address to congress and the final roll call at West Point.

Throughout this book we are reminded of the many honors and tributes received by the author. This book would be much shorter if the awards, congratulatory telegrams, decorations and testimonials were omitted. The author was certainly impressed with the esteem in which he was held by his fellow man.

While not as good of a biography of Douglas MacArthur as "American Caesar" (see my Amazon review), "Reminiscences" is a valuable window into MacArthur's world. Self adulation notwithstanding, this book gives us an insight into how Douglas MacArthur saw his role in the world. We see many of the powerfully charged issues of the World War II and Korean War eras forcefully promoted by one of their foremost partisans. I am glad that I read it. I will never look at General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and his era in the same way again.

Better than even Eisenhower and certainly better than Patton, MacArthur tells us a little about himself, his family and his father's legacy before seeing his first (and later decorated) action in WWI. Taking over at West Point in 1919, his book begins to expose particular weaknesses in American idealogy when it comes to the "expense of defense." As MacArthur continued his tale, I could scarcely trust my eyes. In WWII, the Pacific theater had no unified command like Europe and other theaters. MacArthur controlled only part of his forces; those not under his command were oftentimes pulled away on other missions, sometimes at the last moment. For a time he enjoyed command over his own air power, but later he lost this luxury as other missions took precedence. MacArthur's tactics and strategy are always clearly defined and easily acceptable as intelligent courses. His hope and duty to protect his men appears on every page. His objections to frontal assaults on what he termed "militarily insignificant" objectives (both to the Allies and to Japan) on Okinawa and Iwo Jima made me groan anew for the men we lost there. "Only poor commanders turn in large casualties" he wrote. His masterly reconstruction of Japan (1945-50) shows his open and fair concepts of what we now call "nation building." He knew that the reconstruction and reforms would not succeed unless authorized by the people of Japan. Shouts of rage greeted him in 1945 when he entered Tokyo; tears of sorrow witnessed his departure. In Korea, my stomach turned on almost every page, as Mac describes the indecision or timidity that put men in harm's way without a clear objective, without support, and without even the formal declaration of war. The "police action" as Truman insisted it was seemed to Mac (and to any reader or soldier) as actual war, yet the more acceptable phrase continues to be repeated today. Persons who think so today should read this book and reconsider. For instance, the mass murder in Bosnia in the 1990s was diabolically reduced to "ethnic cleansing." In the 1940s we called this "extermination." When the concentration camps ran full speed in Poland in 1945, the German clerks merely wrote "released" whenever they bothered to record names. This book gives a heroic picture of American military might and the idealogy of freedom, but also a horrid picture of inaction and misinformed policy, and a glimpse behind a curtain of US Government-propagated disinformation.

I enjoyed this book very much. Although long and detailed, I found its style engaging and well organized. It's an easy read. Being able to turn dense historical material into such an interesting book is a triumph.

Writing a biography of a controversial personality like MacArthur is challenging and, overall, I think Perret has done a good job. It's too easy to fall in love with your subject and the author is able to resist the temptation to hurruh too much.

I think, however, that there are a few areas, where the author seems to accept behaviors that are questionable and problematic. Into his assertion of MacArthur's greatness he never really factors in MacArthur's overly emotional temperament nor his lack of veracity. There is space for further debate here that I think the author missed.

Author Perret primarily sympathizes with the professional soldier in Douglas MacArthur, a man whose interests in life focused on his work more than most men's do. Geo-political strategy, raising and training armies, planning campaigns, and facing the enemy in combat are jobs that need doing, and Perret admires MacArthur for doing them wholeheartedly and well.

Perret also reports MacArthur' exceedingly self-centered personality, in a matter-of-fact, nobody's-perfect way and with an evident distaste for both MacArthur's weaknesses and for sensationalism. The facts are there to give us a portrait of a type of character that crops up with some frequency, and that all of us, perhaps, need to understand.

Perret is explicit in his judgment that MacArthur's megalomania detracted from his professional performance. On finishing Perret's book, I personally had the impression that the U.S.-Japan war would have turned out the same without the battles of Bataan, New Guinea, and Manila, and that these were fought primarily because MacArthur's marvelous personality succeeded in making campaigns revolve around himself rather than around strategic necessity. I would have appreciated it if Perret had more explicitly come to judgment on questions like this, which are essential to an evaluation of MacArthur as a professional soldier. For example, if we had understood MacArthur in this light earlier, perhaps we would have been more alert to the shortcomings of Westmoreland's reporting from Vietnam.

Overall, Perret's book gives the impression of being solid information about a man who was great in his field. The book also appears to supersede its predecessors, which Perret evaluates in the course of his narrative.

There is no doubt that Douglas MacArthur will always be acknowledged as one of our greatest military minds, however Mr. Perret tells us of his mistakes and shortcomings. This book has been well researched and despite its length (688 pages) it is easy to read and hard to put down. The General's long and sometimes controversial career gave the author plenty to write about and he does so while keeping the subject very interesting. Despite Gen.MacArthur's many flaws, what impressed me was his loyalty to his staff and his concern for his troops. Only once (New Guinea) did he order a frontal assault. This strategy saved many American lives and casualties. You will especially enjoy the MacArthur/Truman debate over US policy and military authority. Don't miss reading this great American saga.