“Army chief of staff from 1939 to 1945, Marshall directed the organization and training of US land and air forces during World War II. The fourth and final volume of Pogue’s biography deals with Marshall’s ‘other dimension’ as statesman, humanitarian and peacemaker during his tenure as Secretary of State, head of the American Red Cross and Secretary of Defense during the middle period of the Korean War. This remarkable later career included Marshall’s struggle to bring peace to China in the postwar years; his initiation and implementation of the European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan); his role in the establishment of NATO and the State of Israel; his reaction to assaults by the radical right led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy; and his working relationship as defense secretary with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, probably the most successful collaboration in the history of the two departments. Pogue, former director of the Marshall Library, thus rounds off his monumental study of one of the great leaders of the 20th century.” — Publishers Weekly “In a supremely apt way, George C. Marshall: Statesman 1945-1959 possesses the same characteristics as its subject: it is thoughtful, mature, balanced and full of humanity and intelligence. It is also a very large and detailed work... [it is] not only important for its author’s emphatic and fully-rounded portrayal of a ‘Great Man.’ It is also vital for the reminder it provides of the qualities of statesmanship and character that Western leaders ought to be emulating today.” — Paul Kennedy, The New York Times “Forrest Pogue has written a grand book about a grand person, the concluding volume in an authorized four-part biography that will likely be the definitive study of Marshall. This is history at its very best.” — Guy Halverson, Christian Science Monitor “In this fourth and final volume of his definitive biography of Marshall... Forrest Pogue... has indeed performed a valuable service in faithfully portraying the outsized talent and dedication of one old soldier who never faded away.“ — Theodore C. Sorensen, Washington Post “Throughout his life, [Marshall] counted his country’s interests higher than his own, placed his duties before his desires and his honor before all else. Duty, honor, country: a triad more often patronized than esteemed in our Aquarian age. Nonetheless, reading Pogue’s biography provides a suitable reminder that it was just those values that formed the life of perhaps the greatest American our nation has produced in this century.” — Larry Collins, Los Angeles Times “Under Pogue’s clear lens, Marshall comes across as a man who gave unselfishly of himself for over 50 years of government service: a fitting conclusion to this definitive biography.” — Kirkus Reviews “Pogue’s account of the China mission is fascinating... This fine work is exhaustively researched and written with care and balance. The author has conducted extensive interviews with the men and women who knew and worked with Marshall.” — Edward Hawley, Chicago Tribune “This book is great biography.” — Infantry Journal “Relying upon interviews with Marshall and his contemporaries as well as more than thirty years of research in the Marshall papers, government documents, memoirs, biographies and monographs, Pogue has now completed a truly great biography, fully worthy of its extraordinary subject, that reveals and explains his character as well as the numerous issues with which he was associated... life. All four [of Pogue's] volumes stand as a model in the field of biography, and a fitting tribute to the author as well as the subject.“ — Mark A. Stoler, The Historian “With this volume, Forrest Pogue cements his place alongside such giant biographers as Douglas Southall Freeman and Carl Sandburg... throughout this volume Pogue elegantly portrays Marshall the soldier, Marshall the statesman, and Marshall the man.“ — Albert M. Bottoms, Naval War College Review “Pogue rightly stresses Marshall's importance in the transition from the Pax Britannica to the Pax Americana.“ — Callum A. MacDonald, Reviews in American History “This is political biography at its best. Pogue has mined the Marshall Papers and various government archives and private manuscript collections, and he has mastered the vast secondary literature of the postwar period. A pioneer in the field of oral history, he fills in crucial details and adds telling anecdotes from hours of interviews with Marshall and his associates... in its mastery of detail, its clarity and simplicity of style, even in its understatement, this is a biography worthy in every respect of the man generally acknowledged to be the greatest American statesman of this century.“ — George C. Herring, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society “[Pogue] provides an excellent, sometimes meticulous, tracing of the general course of events and American decision-making... [He] has contributed a massive amount of information and produced a lengthy but readable account of American foreign and military policy during the Truman administration.“ — James L. Gormly, The History Teacher “Pogue's selection and use of sources is impeccable... [he] skillful[ly] blend[s] traditional documentary evidence and oral history interviews.“ — Ronald E. Marcello, The Oral History Review

The extraordinary career of General George C. Marshall—America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington—whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century “I’ve read several biographies of Marshall, but I think [David] Roll’s may be the best of the bunch.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review • “Powerful.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Enthralling.”—Andrew Roberts • “Important.”—William I. Hitchcock • “Majestic.”—Susan Page • “Engrossing.”—Andrew J. Bacevich • “Judicious.”—Walter Isaacson • “Definitive.”—Kirkus Winston Churchill called him World War II's "organizer of victory." Harry Truman said he was "the greatest military man that this country ever produced." Today, in our era of failed leadership, few lives are more worthy of renewed examination than Marshall and his fifty years of loyal service to the defense of his nation and its values. Even as a young officer Marshall was heralded as a genius, a reputation that grew when in WWI he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another that led to the armistice. Between the wars he helped modernize combat training and re-staffed the U.S. Army's officer corps with the men who would lead in the next decades. But as WWII loomed, it was the role of army chief of staff in which Marshall's intellect and backbone were put to the test, when his blind commitment to duty would run up against the realities of Washington politics. Long seen as a stoic, almost statuesque figure, he emerges in these pages as a man both remarkable and human thanks to newly discovered sources. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts—two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War—Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower. The result is a defining account of one of our most consequential leaders.

A captivating and fanatically thorough reevaluation of Marshall's life and times.

"Foreword by Fred Smith, President and CEO, Federal Express No list of the greatest people of the 20th century is complete without General George C. Marshall. Winston Churchill called him the ""organizer of victory"" and ""the last great American."" President Harry Truman referred to him as the ""great one of the age."" Tom Brokaw called him the ""godfather"" of ""the greatest generation."" Even so, many people know Marshall's name without being able to recall his many astonishing accomplishments. Among them: * He personally trained future generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Ridgeway, Patton, and others. * As Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army before and during World War II, he oversaw its expansion from a small, homeland defense force -- smaller than Bulgaria's -- into the mightiest army ever assembled. * As Secretary of State, he introduced the ""Marshall Plan,"" which literally rescued Europe after the war. * He was the first professional soldier ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize and was twice named Time's Man of the Year. Marshall's extraordinary career reflects unparalleled leadership traits and consummate skills, among them vision, candor, a commitment to action, the ability to listen and learn, and not least, selflessness. In an extraordinary chronicle and analysis of legendary leadership, Jack Uldrich brings the life and achievements of General Marshall front and center -- where they have always belonged."

An Economist Best Book of 2018 New York Times Book Review Editor’s Pick “Gripping [and] splendid.… An enormous contribution to our understanding of Marshall.”—Washington Post At the end of World War II, General George Marshall took on what he thought was a final mission—this time not to win a war, but to stop one. In China, conflict between Communists and Nationalists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. Marshall’s charge was to cross the Pacific, broker a peace, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III. At first, the results seemed miraculous. But as they started to come apart, Marshall was faced with a wrenching choice—one that would alter the course of the Cold War, define the US-China relationship, and spark one of the darkest-ever turns in American political life. The China Mission offers a gripping, close-up view of the central figures of the time—from Marshall, Mao, and Chiang Kai-shek to Eisenhower, Truman, and MacArthur—as they stood face-to-face and struggled to make history, with consequences and lessons that echo today.