Rating: 
Summary: Biased and disappointing
Review: A better title might have been "Weintraub hates MacArthur." This biased, one-sided book goes out of its way to present MacArthur in the worst possible light. Typical is the statement that the general "had no interest in anything but his wife, son, and reputation." Or the ugly dust-jacket blurb calling MacArthur a "windbag." Consistently the author goes from unwarranted assumptions to foregone conclusions, always blaming MacArthur, even for decisions originating in Washington. Although the text evidences considerable research, the overall effect is marred by the author's obvious prejudice as well as by numerous minor factual errors--I counted at least eight. End result: poor history and boring reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Twilight of an American warlord
Review: Douglas MacArthur will forever be remembered as one of America's outstanding generals. Nonetheless, every great warlord, if he survives long enough, has his twilight, and MACARTHUR'S WAR documents his - that period from June 1950 until April 1952 when his career and reputation became mired in the Korean War, the first of America's post-W.W.II Asian debacles.Author Stanley Weintraub's volume is a well researched, albeit dry, history of the general's last campaign. Within its pages, we encounter a wealth of players, both major and minor. MacArthur himself, America's aging postwar proconsul of a defeated Japan, sometimes brilliant, too often insubordinate, but always egotistical, self-aggrandizing, and militantly anticommunist. The staff toadies who surrounded him and sustained his narrow view of the universe, at the center of which was always Douglas himself: generals Wright, Willoughby and Whitney. His combat commanders: the hapless Gen. Walker (8th Army) and the self-important flunky Gen. Almond (X Corps). The wretched South Korean dictator, Syngman Rhee. General Peng Dehuai, the capable Chinese commander who infiltrated 200,000 of his troops into North Korea right under MacArthur's very nose. The plucky female war correspondent, Marguerite Higgins, who defied the clubbish, men-only mindset of her peers to go out and bring back the story. The home-front military and ex-military, in particular JCS Chairman Bradley and Defense Secretary Marshall, both so in awe of Douglas as to be rendered virtually ineffectual. Truman, the politically beleaguered Commander-In-Chief, who finally brought MacArthur to heel in a fit of righteous pique. And finally, MacArthur's eventual replacement as Supreme Commander, the humorlessly efficient Gen. Ridgeway. If your previous exposure to the Korean "police action" has been nothing more than "MASH" reruns, then you'll find this book to be a valuable introduction. It includes a center section of about 30 photos. Woefully, it includes only one map - a single page rendering of the entire Korean peninsula, which, more often than otherwise, doesn't even show the places where the action takes place. (The map is so extraordinarily useless, I wonder why the author bothered at all.) In the end, MacArthur was a victim of his own Weltanschauung, which became increasingly outmoded and dysfunctional as the Cold War swiftly monopolized the world stage. Had it not been for Korea, MacArthur's place on Mt. Olympus would certainly been assured. Instead, he died in relative obscurity in 1964 in the Waldorf-Astoria.
Rating: 
Summary: Weintraub writes well, Mac fairs not so well
Review: I am a fan of MacArthur. I am interested in his life. I am interested in his faults and his successes. If Inchon was his best, the rest of Korea was probably his worst. The author does a great job of detailing the faults in generalship and character of this man. Weintraub does a fantastic job of intertwining the story of the generals and the politicians with the stories of how the "forgotten war" plays itself out for the American GI. The book was very well researched and documented. I am still a fan of the general. I understand more, however, what perhaps his private ambitions truly were and what motivated him. While Truman was a great president and thought MacArthur's speeches were a bunch of bull----; I think they are inspiring. For further reference on Korea and MacArthur, Geoffrey Peret's "Old Soldiers Never Die" does a fairly good job describing the challenges at the end of the general's life. Without Marshall, Truman clearly wouldn't have faired as well as he did. As a history teacher, I find that George C. Marshall is not given his just due in the history texts of our time. Weintraub tries to credit him and brings him into the picture well. Overall, the author does a fine job to bring this often skipped-over piece of American History to life. I would like to thank him for that and for reminding us that there was a war before vietnam, because a lot of students do not.
Rating:
Summary: A Hatchet Job
Review: I am a Korean War vet, although I did not see combat. I was aware during the war of the comments about "Dugout Dug," and there were episodes when Korea was not MacArthur at his best; but there were also many when he was brilliant. But Weintrab's book is a miserably unbalanced hatchet job. The purpose of the book is not to present an unbiased reporting of MacArthur and Korea, but rather a somewhat lawerly like case to establish that he was nothing more than an egotistical,incompetent publicity hound waited on and served by fawning sycophants. It is unfortunate that a recognized author such as Weintraub has not presented a measured and reasoned report. For much more balanced journalism I suggest "Old Soldiers Never Die" by Geoffrey Perret or "American Ceasar" by William Manchester.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid this book
Review: I picked up this book after reading the Manchester bio because I thought it might be an interesting contrast. Manchester doesn't hide is admiration for MacArthur throughout his book, and one can quickly gather that Weintraub is not going to hide is disgust for MacArthur. After reading Weintraub's book, I quickly realized that the greatest difference between the two is actually the quality of argument and writing. Weintraub resorts throughout the book to two of the lowest tactics in argumentative writing - mudslinging (MacArthur never slept a night in Korea, MacArthur enjoyed watching movies, MacArthur never really interacted with Japanese people, in addition to sticks and stones name calling) and diversion (who fought better - black or white soldiers? Did MacArthur have an affair with a female journalist?). The latter is completely unnecessary and the former could a least be justified if Weintraub would bother to cite his sources for these allegations. Weintraub states that he avoids foot/end notes because they might distract the reader. Look, this is not a novel, it is a serious book with serious allegations. Without some sort of support, Weintraub's arguments, in my opinion, do nothing more that perpetuate old rumors. In addition to those substantive problems, Weintraub should also work on his writing style. Sentences ramble on and go nowhere. Weintraub's interrupts the flow of a sentence with comments, my dog went to the store, that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Overall, a poorly written book with a poorly crafted argument.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this book
Review: I picked up this book after reading the Manchester bio because I thought it might be an interesting contrast. Manchester doesn't hide is admiration for MacArthur throughout his book, and one can quickly gather that Weintraub is not going to hide is disgust for MacArthur. After reading Weintraub's book, I quickly realized that the greatest difference between the two is actually the quality of argument and writing. Weintraub resorts throughout the book to two of the lowest tactics in argumentative writing - mudslinging (MacArthur never slept a night in Korea, MacArthur enjoyed watching movies, MacArthur never really interacted with Japanese people, in addition to sticks and stones name calling) and diversion (who fought better - black or white soldiers? Did MacArthur have an affair with a female journalist?). The latter is completely unnecessary and the former could a least be justified if Weintraub would bother to cite his sources for these allegations. Weintraub states that he avoids foot/end notes because they might distract the reader. Look, this is not a novel, it is a serious book with serious allegations. Without some sort of support, Weintraub's arguments, in my opinion, do nothing more that perpetuate old rumors. In addition to those substantive problems, Weintraub should also work on his writing style. Sentences ramble on and go nowhere. Weintraub's interrupts the flow of a sentence with comments, my dog went to the store, that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Overall, a poorly written book with a poorly crafted argument.
Rating:
Summary: A very disappointing book
Review: I saw that this book was only weighing in at three stars, and I had to get a word in. The book is very well written and anyone interested in the history of the Korean War or Douglas MacArthur will enjoy it. New insights into the war can be found, culled from information from US and Chinese sources previously unavailable or recently declassified. If you're of the opinion that MacArthur could no wrong, you may not like the book as it is critical of him. There was plenty of criticism to go around in the early days of the war and this is just one more viewpoint. If you're a history buff who's interested in learning something about America's "Forgotten War", then this book is for you. It's not overly analytical and is a real page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: MacArthur's War, A Review
Review: I saw that this book was only weighing in at three stars, and I had to get a word in. The book is very well written and anyone interested in the history of the Korean War or Douglas MacArthur will enjoy it. New insights into the war can be found, culled from information from US and Chinese sources previously unavailable or recently declassified. If you're of the opinion that MacArthur could no wrong, you may not like the book as it is critical of him. There was plenty of criticism to go around in the early days of the war and this is just one more viewpoint. If you're a history buff who's interested in learning something about America's "Forgotten War", then this book is for you. It's not overly analytical and is a real page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting new book for the 50th Anniversary of the war
Review: It is difficult to write history that appeals both to the academic and to the layman, but Weintraub does it quite well with this book. He deftly weaves vignettes describing MacArthur's eccentricities and megalomania with some rarely heard viewpoints of the early days of the war- the correspondents on the ground, for example. The narrative also contains (barely) enough detail on ground combat operations to keep the reader oriented. It's a small criticism, but I longed for more detailed description and analysis of Mac's ground commanders-- even though that isn't really the purpose of the book. I would recommend T.R. Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War" and Russell Geugler's "Combat Actions in Korea" for those interested in a combat narrative. While I understand the author's reasoning for leaving out footnotes, I still would have appreciated at least endnotes for specific pieces of evidence. This is an attractive, well- written book that adds to our understanding of MacArthur. Especially now, with the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the war approaching, it is refreshing to see new and challenging interpretations of the Korean War emerge. Recommended reading.
Rating: 
Summary: End of a hero
Review: MacArthur was one of the acclaimed heroes of the American military when I was growing up. Unfortunately, this idol had feet not merely of clay but of soggy mud. Weintraub magnificently documents his protagonist's arrogance, his megalomania, and his disdain for U.S. constitutional processes. Weintraub deftly points out that in MacArthur's efforts to become a public general, he wasn't even a particularly good general. The photo of MacArthur sitting happily on his command ship while American boys were invading at Inchon captures that mood perfectly. Weintraub has magnificently described the mud and muck of the Korean war, the valor of our soldiers particularly those in Task Force Smith and those who fought their way back from near the Manchurian border when the Chinese came in in force -- something that Mac assured President Truman would never happen. This is a splendid book which should be read by the public as well as the specialist. It is thoroughly researched, even the odd parts dealing with Mac's threat to use nuclear weapons. And it is disturbing in the way it paints a Congress ready to lionize a military man while denigrating the custodian of the Constitution who acted perfectly properly in relieving an insubordinate subordinate from high command. The country and the Army were both better off for Truman's actions.
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