“Until the Last Trumpet Sounds the Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing” by Gene Smith was brilliantly written and dramatically effective work of history. Smith was able to capture factual information on the life and career of John J. Pershing. Just like most biographies they are dry factual information, this book followed that as Smith seem to want to give more of a laundry list of activities, letters, and inane facts. Although, the life and career is not a topic discussed as in-depth as some of his fellow generals, however, it is a topic that deserves the attention shown to it by Smith. Smith, known for his works on several American leaders, most notably his book on the last years of Woodrow Wilson, attempts to tackle the life
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The second of his nicknames, consequentially from his frontier service with the African American Tenth Cavalry. Pershing wanted to get back in the field so bad he pulled off getting his friend into the position of assistant secretary of war, so that he can be relieved from the position at the academy. He joined the Tenth Cavalry’s black boys in blue against the Spanish in Cuba. Pershing is known commonly for his hard driven tactics as a leader, shown through his time as the head of the American Expeditionary Force. During this time, Pershing was able to transform a group of untrained, ill-equipped soldiers into a force that aided significantly in the Allied victory in 1918. However, Smith grazes these topics, and instead chooses to focus on the life of Pershing, and a more human side of him. Specifically, who would have thought that a remote figure of a man, who placed emphasis on rifle marksmanship, and an independent United States Army, would have been a mediocre West Point Cadet, but natural leader? In every situation he was put, Pershing was able to create a masterful performance of duty with an astonishing understanding of people. Smith accomplishes his goal of defining a gentler side to Pershing, as he describes Pershing as a schoolteacher who chose to attend West Point for the sake of a free education. Smith also showed a gentler and more down to earth side with the pictures his used of Pershing with his family, friends, and
The second of his nicknames, consequentially from his frontier service with the African American Tenth Cavalry. Pershing wanted to get back in the field so bad he pulled off getting his friend into the position of assistant secretary of war, so that he can be relieved from the position at the academy. He joined the Tenth Cavalry’s black boys in blue against the Spanish in Cuba. Pershing is known commonly for his hard driven tactics as a leader, shown through his time as the head of the American Expeditionary Force. During this time, Pershing was able to transform a group of untrained, ill-equipped soldiers into a force that aided significantly in the Allied victory in 1918. However, Smith grazes these topics, and instead chooses to focus on the life of Pershing, and a more human side of him. Specifically, who would have thought that a remote figure of a man, who placed emphasis on rifle marksmanship, and an independent United States Army, would have been a mediocre West Point Cadet, but natural leader? In every situation he was put, Pershing was able to create a masterful performance of duty with an astonishing understanding of people. Smith accomplishes his goal of defining a gentler side to Pershing, as he describes Pershing as a schoolteacher who chose to attend West Point for the sake of a free education. Smith also showed a gentler and more down to earth side with the pictures his used of Pershing with his family, friends, and