Generals in the Making: How Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Their Peers Became the Commanders Who Won World War II

Shakespeare famously wrote that some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Part military history and part group biography, Generals in the Making tells the amazing true story of how George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, and their peers became the greatest generation of senior commanders in military history. As the U.S. Army’s triumphant homecoming from World War I was quickly forgotten amidst two decades filled with economic depression and growing isolationism, Marshall, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, Omar Bradley, Lucian Truscott, Matthew Ridgway, and their brothers in arms toiled in a profession most Americans viewed with distrust. Before they became legends, these young officers served their country in posts from Washington D.C. to Panama, from West Point to war-torn China. They taught and studied together in the Army’s schools, attempting to innovate in an era of shrinking budgets, obsolete equipment, and skeletal forces. Beyond these professional challenges, they endured shattering personal tragedies: the sudden deaths of children or spouses, divorce, depression, and court martial. Yet when the world faced possibly its darkest hour, as fascism and barbarism were on the march, they stood ready to lead America’s young men in the fight for civilization. By the end of World War II, even German commanders expressed amazement at the dynamic change in American military leadership since the Great War. Generals in the Making is the first comprehensive history of America’s World War II generals between the wars, an invaluable prequel to every history of that war.

About the Author :
BENJAMIN RUNKLE is a former paratrooper and presidential speechwriter with a Harvard PhD and a Bronze Star from Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has served as an official in the Department of Defense, as a director at the National Security Council, and as a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee. He is currently a senior policy fellow with Artis International and an adjunct lecturer in Johns Hopkins University’s Global Security Program. He is the author of Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts from Geronimo to Bin Laden (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), and his writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, Military History Quarterly, and Joint Forces Quarterly, amongst other publications. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and two sons.

Review :
Going behind the headlines, Runkle provides worthwhile background and context for understanding current wars and how they are fought. Although there is no shortage of books about bin Laden, Runkle breaks new ground by putting his story in the context of earlier manhunts that are surely less familiar to most readers. . . . Wanted Dead or Alive may be most appealing to those with an interest in military history, but should also find favor with a broader readership drawn to lesser known episodes in the nation’s past. In Wanted Dead or Alive, Mr. Runkle accomplishes two seemingly contradictory feats. His colorful, fast-paced accounts of each manhunt appeal to those who enjoy a good adventure story, but his keen strategic insight provides ample material for further reflection. His writing is readable without being breezy, meaty without being ponderous. Mr. Runkle's book deserves attention from both policymakers and the general public. The best book on manhunting that I have read combining detailed research into a fast-paced story that reads like a novel of similar genre. Ben Runkle illuminates the hidden lives of these future commanders between World War I and World War II in Generals in the Making. Runkle is uniquely qualified to write this story. He knows the Army and its soldiers, as shown by his mastery of the primary and secondary literature about these great captains and his acknowledgment that there are flesh-and-blood men beneath the uniforms. Runkle writes elegantly and for a broad readership, yet avid readers of military history will still learn new things . . . Runkle's book is ultimately inspiring. Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and Eisenhower had personal and professional problems with which many empathize or sympathize. Generals in the Making is an important new addition to our knowledge of these flawed and great men. Runkle makes “important contributions to the profession of arms. In reading Generals in the Making, military leaders will see the important role the nontangible aspects of the profession play in leader development: the time we spend reflecting, the books we read, and the mentors we listen to.” Covering U.S. army leadership from the beginning of the twentieth century to the end of World War II, this book details the careers of those generals mentioned in the title and of many other military luminaries. En route, the text provides a detailed history of both world wars and of the depression that crippled the U.S. between them.