The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 1,883 ratings

Price: 19.69

Last update: 01-30-2025


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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

At the height of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman committed a gaffe that sent shock waves around the world. When asked by a reporter about the possible use of atomic weapons in response to China's entry into the war, Truman replied testily, "The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapons, as he always has." This suggested that General Douglas MacArthur, the willful, fearless, and highly decorated commander of the American and UN forces, had his finger on the nuclear trigger. A correction quickly followed, but the damage was done; two visions for America's path forward were clearly in opposition, and one man would have to make way.

Truman was one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. Heir to a struggling economy, a ruined Europe, and increasing tension with the Soviet Union, on no issue was the path ahead clear and easy. General MacArthur, by contrast, was incredibly popular, as untouchable as any officer has ever been in America. The lessons he drew from World War II were absolute: appeasement leads to disaster, and a showdown with the Communists was inevitable - the sooner the better. In the nuclear era, when the Soviets, too, had the bomb, the specter of a catastrophic third world war lurked menacingly close on the horizon.

The contest of wills between these two titanic characters unfolds against the turbulent backdrop of a faraway war and terrors conjured at home by Joseph McCarthy. From the drama of Stalin's blockade of West Berlin to the daring landing of MacArthur's forces at Inchon to the shocking entrance of China into the war, The General vs. the President vividly evokes the making of a new American era.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Wayne A. Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great History, Great Writing, Important Test for our Constitutional System
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2017
    Brands is a very good writer of history. He has David McCullough's ability to make non-fiction read like a ripping good story.

    The "General Vs. the President..." is an excellent case study of political maneuver, international affairs and constitutional checks and balances in one book. The author's treatment of the dance Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Harry Truman performed in trying to grapple with the Korean War and each other is a very good cautionary tale. What to do when a weak leader has a star underling who is a proven winner and both the leader, underling and other stakeholders know it? This is the situation that faced Truman when the North Koreans attacked the South and caught the US unawares and unprepared. MacArthur was a hero - the master of the Pacific in WWII. Although he was difficult to control and not willingly subordinate and provided Truman with ample reason to relieve the General, MacArthur's early success in flanking the NK at Inchon and crushing the enemy divisions as he chased them toward the Chinese border excused a lot of behavior that should have gotten him cashiered.

    Chinese intervention drasticly changed the nature of the war, proved MacArthur fallible, and made his maverick and insubordinate behavior intolerable. Particularly since the stakes were so high - MacArthur's statements, actions and disobedience risked a regional war igniting a larger, perhaps global, conflict - one the United States was ill prepared to see to victory and which would kill many even if we were. Truman had to fire MacArthur and right the relationship between President and military commander. (For those knowledgeable of the Civil War, this story will echo what Lincoln faced with Fremont, Butler, McClellan and Hooker among others).

    Truman and his Administration certainly made their share of mistakes in the run up to the North Korean invasion, and the author is honest in portraying the positive and negative of his actions as well as the good decisions MacArthur made and his laudable success in remaking Japan. But, for the sake of our Constitutional system, Truman took the only course of action he could (and arguably - even he argued to himself - should have taken earlier).

    Brands gives the right amount of background as he focuses on the machinations of MacArthur and Truman's response over many months as he tried to bring the hero-General to heel. It is a terrific and dramatic story with larger than life players and important issues. In Brand's hands a treasure of a book.
  • Jeffrey T. Munson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Close To The Abyss
    Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2016
    After FDR's death in April, 1945, an unknown senator-turned-vice-president was elevated to the presidency. His name was Harry Truman. During the waning months of World War II, Truman became privy to the Manhattan Project, whose scientists had been working on the atomic bomb for several years. Truman authorized the use of the bomb against Japan, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were subsequently destroyed. The man chosen to lead the occupation of Japan was General Douglas MacArthur. This was the beginning of the Truman/MacArthur alliance; an alliance that would be tested five years later on the Korean peninsula.

    In June, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. MacArthur was picked to lead the UN forces in the South. During the next several months, Truman and MacArthur would butt heads on several occasions.

    Truman, while in office, was one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. Communism was spreading, and Truman had to "learn on the job" as to how to deal with the Soviet Union. Conversely, MacArthur was the hero of the Pacific war and the person who brought Japan back from ruin to become a valuable ally.

    Despite his status, MacArthur still answered to Truman. Truman favored containment in Korea, while MacArthur wanted to wipe out communism in Asia by escalating the war. He had his moments, such as the highly successful Inchon invasion, but he also suffered defeats, especially when China entered the conflict. This led to a downward spiral which ultimately led to MacArthur's dismissal.

    "The General vs. The President" is a fine book about a relatively forgotten chapter in our history. Author H.W. Brands has written a compelling book about how close we were to World War III. The narrative is full of interesting history, and I especially liked reading about MacArthur's interviews by members of Congress. In the final analysis, Truman's policies proved to be the correct ones. Highly recommended.
  • Michael Shepherd
    5.0 out of 5 stars Details of a conflict revealed
    Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2024
    Brands’ book provides a level of detail from official records and sources that make the reader feel as if they are there. One of the most significant works yet on the personalities of MacArthur and Truman and how they came into conflict over Korea.

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