Winston Groom’s book, “The Generals,” describes the lives of three American generals, George Marshall, George Patton, and Douglas MacArthur. Biographies of all three men are told focusing on their contributions to the development of our military through various stories. The book includes popular quotes, footnotes, a few illustrations, an extensive bibliography and note section, and an impressive index.
The Author divides his book into three sections: Beginnings, Between the Wars, and Brave as Lions, Bold as Bulls. The first section describes each general’s family background and upbringing.
Beginnings gave background information on George Marshall’s parents and described his upbringing as a mediocre student with aspirations of attending …show more content…
Patton was shown to be a lover of war, who did not do well during peacetime. However, was a shrewd and successful general in the field. MacArthur was an impressive battle-wise general, who died a legend. The stories lead the reader to believe all three helped lead the allies to win World War …show more content…
He undoubtedly stated factual information as evident through numerous footnotes and attached bibliography. It appears to be sound and backed up by several sources. He does mention Patton and MacArthur having conservative politics. I was indifferent to that portrayal. He supplemented his research with various photographs and a timeline/map, which I found helpful. The characters were made human by discussing some of their short-comings, whether after the war or growing up. Including portions of MacArthur’s poetry also showed a human or softer side to his character. Patton’s character was fun to picture, as stories were told that led him to believe he was reincarnated. The author wanted to show readers the individual personalities of the three generals. The in-depth stories definitely accomplished that goal. The author included graphic descriptions of hazing which took place at Virginia Military Institute. This left an impression on me that these generals were not “gods,” but humans who suffered and persevered. The author continued to portray them as humans when he detailed their “faults.” Marshall might have under estimated Russia as continuing to be an ally of the United States. Patton had a tendency to be prejudiced against Jews. MacArthur seemed to believe he was larger than
The Author divides his book into three sections: Beginnings, Between the Wars, and Brave as Lions, Bold as Bulls. The first section describes each general’s family background and upbringing.
Beginnings gave background information on George Marshall’s parents and described his upbringing as a mediocre student with aspirations of attending …show more content…
Patton was shown to be a lover of war, who did not do well during peacetime. However, was a shrewd and successful general in the field. MacArthur was an impressive battle-wise general, who died a legend. The stories lead the reader to believe all three helped lead the allies to win World War …show more content…
He undoubtedly stated factual information as evident through numerous footnotes and attached bibliography. It appears to be sound and backed up by several sources. He does mention Patton and MacArthur having conservative politics. I was indifferent to that portrayal. He supplemented his research with various photographs and a timeline/map, which I found helpful. The characters were made human by discussing some of their short-comings, whether after the war or growing up. Including portions of MacArthur’s poetry also showed a human or softer side to his character. Patton’s character was fun to picture, as stories were told that led him to believe he was reincarnated. The author wanted to show readers the individual personalities of the three generals. The in-depth stories definitely accomplished that goal. The author included graphic descriptions of hazing which took place at Virginia Military Institute. This left an impression on me that these generals were not “gods,” but humans who suffered and persevered. The author continued to portray them as humans when he detailed their “faults.” Marshall might have under estimated Russia as continuing to be an ally of the United States. Patton had a tendency to be prejudiced against Jews. MacArthur seemed to believe he was larger than