Beetle
The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
This biography recounts one of the most significant yet unsung military careers of the twentieth century: “a major contribution to the history of World War II” (Foreign Affairs).
General Walter Bedell Smith began his public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an essential role in formation of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe. Among his many duties, Smith negotiated the surrenders of the Italian and German armed forces in 1945. Smith’s postwar career included service as the US ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state.
In Beetle, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower. Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander, as well as the WWII campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Walter Bedell Smith (1895 1961), Dwight Eisenhower's chief of staff from 1942 to 1945, remains one of WWII's obscure figures. When he appears, it's usually as Ike's hatchet man, "a one-dimensional SOB." This mammoth, exhaustively researched biography presents instead a master director of the complex machinery of the combined-arms war waged by allied forces. The chief of staff translates the commanding general's will into plan, and plan into action. That requires focused intelligence, mastery of detail, and sophisticated human skills. Smith had them all. Crosswell demonstrates this in an unusual fashion, beginning the book with Smith's distinguished postwar career, culminating as undersecretary of state. He then segues into Smith's development from National Guard private to George Marshall's prot g and secretary, then to the General Staff by 1941. That rise reflected ability rather than affability. But from the first Smith kept British and American egos focused on a common objective. After D-Day he became "a genuine chief of staff," maximizing Eisenhower's strengths while minimizing his proneness to indecision and preference for compromise. Smith was indeed "much more than advertised," and Crosswell brings him out of Eisenhower's shadow. 25 photos; 11 maps.
