Marshall: Lessons in Leadership

by Jeffers, H. Paul; Axelrod, Alan; Clark, Wesley K.

• ISBN13: 9780230614161
• ISBN10: 0230614167
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-08
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Of all the honored military commanders in American history, George C. Marshall is the only one who never led a large force in the field. Yet he came close to receiving the most coveted post of allSupreme Commander of the Allied force that invaded France on the most famous of all D-Days, June 6, 1944. Marshall, who was then Chief of Staff of the army, clearly wanted the job. But the long-retired Pershing, who still wielded much influence, had other ideas; precisely because of his great admiration for Marshall, he told Roosevelt that it would be a "very grave error" to send the Chief of Staff away from Washington. Roosevelt, after offering the general a pro forma chance to request the appointment, gave the Supreme Command to General Eisenhower. One of the great contributions Marshall brought to the table as Chief of Staff was his study of the possibilities of coalitions and his advocacy of turning alliances into genuine unified partnerships. Marshall, who became Chief of Staff in 1939, felt the burden of turning a tiny army, not much more than a constabulary force, into a mighty machine capable of fighting on battlefields thousands of miles apart. In the realm of strategy, his focus became known as "Germany first": regardless of other considerations, take the fight to the most dangerous enemy, wage war as efficiently as possible, and then turn on other foes. It was only much later, after his brief retirement, that President Truman offered Marshall the position of Secretary of State, which resulted in the Marshall Plan, the achievement for which he is now best known and that holds many lessons for leaders today.

Author Biography

H. Paul Jeffers (1934-2009) was an established military historian and author of seventy books. He worked as an editor and producet at ABC, CBS, and NBC, and was the news director at both of New York City's all-news radio stations, WINS and WCBS. This is his last book.
Alan Axelrod is the author of numerous popular history and historically rooted business and management books, including Bradley and Patton in the Great Generals Series, and the Business Week bestsellers Patton on Leadership and Elizabeth I, CEO. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
General Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is the author of A Time to Lead, as well as the bestselling books Waging Modern War and Winning Modern Wars.

Table of Contents

Foreword-General	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Beast	p. 5
Junior Officer	p. 17
This Little Village	p. 27
The Wizard	p. 41
Little Black Book	p. 55
America the Unready	p. 73
Rainbow	p. 83
Lighting a Flame	p. 93
Blood and Sand	p. 105
Victory Is Certain	p. 119
Mighty Endeavor	p. 131
Marshall's Boys at Work	p. 141
"We Can Still Lose This War"	p. 153
Warrior Statesman	p. 161
War and Peace	p. 171
Soldier Statesman	p. 183
Notes	p. 191
Index	p. 197
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