Summary of Thomas E. Ricks's The Generals

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 The United States developed a superpower military under Marshall, and it has remained that way for the past seven decades. His concept of what makes a good general still influences the promotions today’s leaders give to younger officers.

#2 George Marshall was the chief of staff of the US Army, and he was born in 1901. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1901, and he soon joined the Army, which had been recovering from its low ebb of the 1890s.

#3 Marshall’s first encounter with the German army during World War I was in October 1917, when he went to France and spoke with General John Blackjack Pershing, the American commander in the war. Marshall tried to explain the situation, but Pershing blew up and dismissed him.

#4 During World War I, General Pershing was extremely quick to remove generals who weren’t producing results, which was not an uncommon practice in American history.