Douglas MacArthur

With the looks and personality of a heaven born general , Douglas MacArthur, a key figure in the American recovery of the Pacific, occupation of Japan, and ill-starred incursion into North Korea, provoked widely varying opinions even at the height of his fame. George E. Stratemeyer, his top air officer in Japan, called him 'the greatest man in history'; yet FDR considered his defence of Corregidor 'criminal', and Truman declared his return to the Philippines 'a fiasco'. This far from flattering biography demythologizes the 'American Caesar', whose delayed reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbour cost the US nearly all its Philippines-based B-17s, whose interference in foreign policy was often destructive, and whose attempts to become President can best be described as futile. Professor Schaller's provocative portrait of a man torn between talent and opportunism, duty and ego, also provides an invaluable background to current American relations with the Far East.