David L. Roll - George Marshall: Defender of the Republic

Advance Praise for George Marshall

George Marshall was the model of what a general and statesman should be: wise and nonpartisan and honorable. That is why it is so timely that this judicious biography brings him back to life for us. Using papers and material that have become available in the past three decades, David L. Roll helps reveal Marshalls human side and how it relates to his public image and momentous achievements.

Walter Isaacson, New York Timesbestselling author of Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci

David L. Rolls well-researched, well-written and enthralling book explains perfectly why Winston Churchill called George C. Marshall the Organizer of Victory. The psychological insights are penetrating about this courtly, modest Pennsylvanian who nonetheless had a core of tempered steel.

Andrew Roberts, New York Timesbestselling author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

In this engrossing biography, David Roll pinpoints the sources of George C. Marshalls greatness: character, integrity, and a deep devotion to the well-being of his country. Put simply, Marshall possessed in abundance qualities that today have seemingly all but vanished from American public life.

Andrew J. Bacevich, professor emeritus of history and international relations, Boston University, and New York Timesbestselling author of Americas War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History

David Rolls George Marshall couldnt come at a more crucial time. Theres a growing conviction among Americans that their country no longer produces strategists and statesmen of Marshalls stature. Thanks to new sources on the generals life and the military establishment through which he rose, this thorough, balanced, and wise book goes far in assessing that claim.

John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of George F. Kennan: An American Life

David Rolls majestic new biography of General George Marshall will reintroduce twenty-first century readers to one of the most important figures of the twentieth century: the soldier and statesman who devised the strategy that won World War II. The first major study of Marshall in a generation, Roll skillfully explores papers, diaries and documents never before available to portray a modest, moral man who served ten presidents, his nation, and the world.

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief of USA Today and author of The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty

A book as necessary as it is great. At a time when Americans are struggling to define what real leadership looks like, David Rolls brilliant new portrait of George Marshall offers valuable clarity.

General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army Ret.

In this time of national demoralization, when a small-minded president casts a shadow over our highest office, David Rolls biography of General George C. Marshall reminds us that the country has also been served by the best and the brightest. Rolls highly readable book captures the many challenges that Marshall faced and overcame by brilliance and resilience. This book should be read by anyone who wishes to renew faith in Americas greatness.

Robert Dallek, author of An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 19171963

A hugely significant book on an American leader to whom freedom around the world owes an enormous debt. This exhaustively researched, penetrating biography provides important new perspective on a soldier-statesman whose character of service and contributions over a fifty-year career make him worthy of comparison to the most substantial figures in American history. Based on letters and papers available for the first time, David Roll provides a portrait of Marshall that is far more penetrating and nuanced than past biographies and establishes very clearly that George C. Marshall was an extraordinary defender of the republic at one of the most perilous times in our history.

General David Petraeus, U.S. Army Ret.

This splendid, freshly researched and lively biography gives us a full portrait of one of the most talented and admirable leaders the United States ever produced. David Roll, with a telling eye for personal detail, humanizes the stoic Marshall and reveals his true genius as a soldier, strategist and diplomat across fifty years of war and global turmoil. This is an important, even urgent, book.

William I. Hitchcock, author of The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s

David Rolls George Marshall is a tonic for our troubled times. Roll brings to life the decency and strength of character that made Marshall one of Americas greatest soldiers and statesmen, showing how, for all his brilliance, Marshall always put his country first, rather than himself. He was reticent, disciplined, measured in his opinions, and magnanimous in his treatment of othersqualities that are so obviously missing from many of todays leaders.

David Ignatius, New York Timesbestselling author of The Quantum Spy

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Copyright 2019 by David L. Roll

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Roll, David L., author.

Title: George Marshall : Defender of the Republic / David L. Roll.

Description: New York : Dutton Caliber, 2019.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018055675| ISBN 9781101990971 (hardback) | ISBN 9781101990995 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 18801959. | Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 18801959Military leadership. | Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 18801959Political and social views. | GeneralsUnited StatesBiography. | United States. ArmyBiography. | StatesmenUnited StatesBiography. | Political leadershipUnited StatesCase studies. | United StatesHistory, Military20th century. | United StatesPolitics and government19011953. | United StatesForeign relations20th century. | BISAC: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military. | HISTORY / Military / World War II. | HISTORY /United States / 20th Century.

Classification: LCC E745.M37 R65 2019 | DDC 973.918092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055675

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