Pines and Plains Libraries

Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of Americas most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank? Drawing on a wealth...

At the end of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur finds himself the de facto ruler of Japan. He challenges his expert on Japanese culture, General Fellers to provide evidence in ten days to decide if the Japanese Emperor, worshipped as a god by his people, but accused of war crimes, should be punished or saved as the fate of a nation waits.

"From master storyteller and historian H.W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II. At the height of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman committed a gaffe that sent shock waves around the world. When asked by a reporter about the possible use of atomic weapons in response to China's...

Traces the intertwined, uniquely American tales of three men-of-arms who became prominent World War II generals and redefined the nation's ideas about military leadership.

U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur leads American forces to victory in the Pacific during World War II, then clashes with President Truman during the Korean War.

Under siege on the island of Corregidor, General Douglas MacArthur received a warning from the enemy. "You are well aware that you are doomed," the Japenese general wrote. "The end is near. The question is how long you will be able to resist. You are advised to surrender." Of course, there was no way Douglas was going to surrender. Whether masterminding battle strategies or guiding the peace process among war-torn nations, 5-Star general MacArthur...

"By the first half of the twentieth century, technology had transformed warfare into a series of intense bloodbaths in which the line between soldiers and civilians was obliterated, resulting in the deaths of one hundred million people. During this period, four men exhibited unparalleled military leadership that led the United States victoriously through two World Wars: Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, George Marshall, and Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower;...