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George C. Marshall: Education of a General: 1880-1939

Alone among the great figures of World War II and its aftermath, General George C. Marshall has until now remained voiceless and unportrayed. And yet, in the absence of his full life story, the books by other leaders of the free world give an incomplete picture: a key figure is missing.

In entrusting to the George C. Marshall Foundation the abundant record of his career to be made into a biography, George Marshall filled a vital gap in the history of our age. The unprecedented collection of source material, either bequeathed by General Marshall to the Foundation or collected later by it, consists of: all General Marshall's personal papers, including his letters; taped interviews with the General made in 1956 and 1957 containing some 125,000 words about his early life; taped interviews with several score of his relatives, classmates, fellow officers, friends, and associates; incomparable newspaper files of the period; and microfilm copies of more than half a million items from official government files, many of them classified until now, but released for this purpose by the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations.

Much of the material about the conduct of both World Wars and about the crucial problems of international diplomacy — and almost all the rich personal material — will be new even to students of the period.

Education of a General, 1880-1939, the first of the three-volume definitive biography, follows Marshall's unswerving progress from his childhood in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to 1939 when Hitler marched into Poland and Marshall took the oath as Chief of Staff of the United States Army. The scenes of his strenuous career include the Philippine Islands during the Spanish-American War, France in World War I, China in the time of the War Lords, and the length and breadth of his native land.

In triumphing over formidable odds to become, first, an army officer with responsibilities far beyond his rank, then a member of Pershing's staff, and finally Chief of Staff amidst the complex tensions of service rivalries, Marshall never lost sight of the ideals of integrity and fair play. We come to understand not only the soldier but the man — his family devotion, his humanity, his unfailing consideration toward his fellow officers and those who served under him, and his increasing insight into men and nations.

Education of a General is also a picture of America's end of innocence, her altered course toward world power, away from isolation, and the part played by a great American in shaping his country for her new role in world affairs.

  • Format
  • hardcover
  • Pages
  • 438
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780670336852
  • Characters
  • George C. Marshall, John J. Pershing, Hugh Aloysius Drum, J. Franklin Bell, Fox Conner
  • Genres
  • biography, history, leadership
  • Release date
  • 1963