The Second Most Powerful Man in the World
The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelt's Chief of Staff
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
The life of Franklin Roosevelt's most trusted and powerful advisor, Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief
“Fascinating… greatly enriches our understanding of Washington wartime power.”—Madeleine Albright
Aside from FDR, no American did more to shape World War II than Admiral William D. Leahy--not Douglas MacArthur, not Dwight Eisenhower, and not even the legendary George Marshall. No man, including Harry Hopkins, was closer to Roosevelt, nor had earned his blind faith, like Leahy. Through the course of the war, constantly at the president's side and advising him on daily decisions, Leahy became the second most powerful man in the world.
In a time of titanic personalities, Leahy regularly downplayed his influence, preferring the substance of power to the style. A stern-faced, salty sailor, his U.S. Navy career had begun as a cadet aboard a sailing ship. Four decades later, Admiral Leahy was a trusted friend and advisor to the president and his ambassador to Vichy France until the attack on Pearl Harbor. Needing one person who could help him grapple with the enormous strategic consequences of the war both at home and abroad, Roosevelt made Leahy the first presidential chief of staff--though Leahy's role embodied far more power than the position of today.
Leahy's profound power was recognized by figures like Stalin and Churchill, yet historians have largely overlooked his role. In this important biography, historian Phillips Payson O'Brien illuminates the admiral's influence on the most crucial and transformative decisions of WWII and the early Cold War. From the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and France, to the allocation of resources to fight Japan, O'Brien contends that America's war largely unfolded according to Leahy's vision. Among the author's surprising revelations is that while FDR's health failed, Leahy became almost a de facto president, making decisions while FDR was too ill to work, and that much of his influence carried over to Truman's White House.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Military historian O'Brien (How the War Was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II) serves up an engaging biography of the under-the-radar WWII power broker, William D. Leahy (1875 1959). O'Brien traces Leahy's path from naval cadet to his increasingly important combat and administrative posts, culminating in his appointment by FDR to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff after the U.S. entered WWII. As the country's highest-ranking military official, he became FDR's top adviser and later advocated policies to ensure that in the future no one occupying the role would hold a similar amount of power. Leahy is drawn as a complex character who thrived in positions of authority, but who preferred to avoid the spotlight; the book excels at relating the political maneuvering that allowed him to repeatedly upstage better-known historical figures including George Marshall and Douglas MacArthur (whom Leahy called out in front of the president for his nonstandard uniform). O'Brien provides little analysis of the underlying motivations for Leahy's actions and can occasionally veers into the realm of hyperbole ("He might as well have said: No, Mrs. Roosevelt, I am the acting president of the United States"). But this is a solid and informative account of a relatively underdiscussed influence on Cold War policies, worldviews, and relationships that still matter today. Agents: Alexa Stark and Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group.
