Pershing: A Biography: Lessons in Leadership

by Jim Lacey, Wesley K. Clark (Foreword by)

Overview

The riveting story of General "Black Jack" Pershing, the first great modern commander to lead a major campaign in Europe.

This persuasive biography sheds light on the nation's first modern combat commander who set the standard for today's four-star officers. Though the U.S. entered WWI with inadequate forces, in just over a year Pershing had built and hurled a one million man army against forty battle-hardened German divisions, defending the hellish Meuse-Argonne and turning the tide of the war. With focus and clarity, Lacey traces the development of Pershing from Indian fighter, to warrior against the Philippines insurgency, to victorious commander in WWI.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230614451
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/09/2009
Series:	Great Generals
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jim Lacey is an analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses and a professor of conflict and global issues at Johns Hopkins University. Lacey was an embedded journalist with Time magazine during the invasion of Iraq, where he traveled with the 101st Airborne Division. His opinion columns have been published in The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and The New York Post. Lacey is the author of Takedown, Fresh from the Fight, and Occupation of Iraq. General Wesley K. Clark served in the United States Army for thirty-four years and rose to the rank of four-star general as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He is author of A Time to Lead, as well as the best selling books Waging Modern War and Winning Modern Wars.

Table of Contents

Foreword   General Wesley K. Clark     vii
Introduction     1
Born in War     7
The Splendid Little War     23
The Philippines Insurgency     33
Love Gained     49
Victory Gained and Love Lost     61
Chasing Villa     77
Entry into World War I     85
The Americans Arrive     99
Building an Army     109
Into the Fight     129
The First Great Offensive     151
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive     159
Chief of Staff     179
Notes     195
Index     201

Editorial Reviews

Lacey's contribution to the Great Generals series substantially redresses the balance in Pershing's favor by focusing on his acheivements.” —Booklist

“Jim Lacey's very readable biography of General Pershing is an excellent reminder of his role in swiftly transforming the United States Army into a major fighting force in 1917 – 1918, and also of his great importance in selecting the men who would command American forces in World War Two. It is a first-rate life of a great American General who is all too often overlooked or underestimated today.” —Michael Korda, author of Ulysses S. Grant and Ike

“Well researched, well presented, and well reasoned, this slim volume makes a convincing case for Pershing as the key figure in the AEF's contribution to Allied victory in the Great War. Pershing's government gave him two million men in uniform. His tireless work, detailed preparation, and situational awareness molded them into a war-winning army. He might not have been a great captain–but John J Pershing was a first-class general.” —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century

“Jim Lacey has provided a wonderful study of Pershing and his generalship that is well researched, but even more important brings a real understanding of the art of leadership to the subject.” —Williamson Murray, author of A War To be Won

From the Publisher

Well researched, well presented, and well reasoned, this slim volume makes a convincing case for Pershing as the key figure in the AEF's contribution to Allied victory in the Great War. Pershing's government gave him two million men in uniform. His tireless work, detailed preparation, and situational awareness molded them into a war-winning army. He might not have been a great captain-but John J Pershing was a first-class general.

author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Dennis Showalter

Lacey's addition to the "Great Generals" series is an insightful and informative look at Gen. John J. Pershing, remembered today (if at all) as commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. But Pershing's career spanned a longer period. Lacey (ed., The Canons of Jihad: Terrorists' Strategy for Defeating America) recounts Pershing's development into the nation's first modern combat commander. After graduating from West Point in 1886, Pershing had an active career on the western frontier in the last Indian campaign, saw combat in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and developed into a very effective midlevel commander in the Philippines, balancing negotiation and ruthlessness in dealing with the Moros. His single-minded devotion to duty aided him in his dealings with the Allies in World War I, maintaining the U.S. Army as a separate entity on the western front and providing the difference between defeat and victory. Lacey offers readers an insightful and informative look at a figure who should not have become all but forgotten. Recommended.
—David Lee Poremba

Library Journal