Rating: 
Summary: Save time, this is the one.
Review: If you are looking for a history from the start of WWII through the depth of the cold war, this is it. I have read 20 books and biographies in this era and this is the best overview and the closest to the 'inside' political and military history I have seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Back in print
Review: There is something very gratifying in this era of six-week shelf-lives for new books to see _General of the Army_ back in print. I believe this is the only comprehensive one-volume biography of the man Winston Churchill dubbed the architect of military victory in World War II. Were that not enough, at war's end he became the great proponent of generosity to devastated Europe with the Marshall Plan; few men bore the title of "statesman" with greater dignity or purpose. As Army chief of staff, Marshall was, ironically, overshadowed by the victorious field commanders Marshall himself selected. Still, he remains one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. I trust _General of the Army_ is worthy of its subject.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT biography about a GREAT man
Review: This book rested on my bookshelf for about two months after I received it from Amazon. Frankly, I found 700-plus pages a little daunting. But having read The Supreme Commander - Stephen Ambrose's masterful book on Ike's war years, this seemed a natural follow-up. It was especially alluring because Ike so admired Marshall. As I deem Ike a genuine hero, it was natural to be interested in his hero.Well, I'm glad I tackled it! I rank it alongside biographical masterpieces like Edmund Morris's two-volume biography of Teddy Roosevelt and Ron Chernow's biography of Rockefeller. Simply put, this is one of the best books I've ever read. For anyone interested in the WWII era, or generally the history of America in the first half of the 20th century, this is MUST reading. James B. Hagerty
Cincinnati Ohio
Rating:
Summary: Our Last Great American -- But For How Long ?
Review: This is a fine companion piece to Leonard Mosley's "Marshall: Hero For Our Times." Together, the two volumes provide a managable portrait of a man who conceivably can be considered the most influential American of the 20th Century. Forrest Pogue's volumes are far more comprehensive, though not from a human-interest standpoint. Cray's and Mosley's works explore Marshall's more sensitive facets. Marshall's towering integrity (he wrote no memoirs because he wanted no one profiting from them) has kept him in history's shadow, though he wasn't exactly cloaked in anonymity during WWII (since he reported to Roosevelt, and gave orders to MacArthur and Eisenhower). I hope more young people will read about him, and emulate his character. [H]is name was placed upon one of the largest public assistance programs in history, the European Reconstruction Plan.
Rating:
Summary: Our Last Great American -- But For How Long ?
Review: This is a fine companion piece to Leonard Mosley's "Marshall: Hero For Our Times." Together, the two volumes provide a managable portrait of a man who conceivably can be considered the most influential American of the 20th Century. Forrest Pogue's volumes are far more comprehensive, though not from a human-interest standpoint. Cray's and Mosley's works explore Marshall's more sensitive facets. Marshall's towering integrity (he wrote no memoirs because he wanted no one profiting from them) has kept him in history's shadow, though he wasn't exactly cloaked in anonymity during WWII (since he reported to Roosevelt, and gave orders to MacArthur and Eisenhower). I hope more young people will read about him, and emulate his character. [H]is name was placed upon one of the largest public assistance programs in history, the European Reconstruction Plan.
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