MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines

MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines by Richard Connaughton. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781585673940.

MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines is a riveting portrait of General Douglas MacArthur—perhaps Americas greatest and very likely most controversial generals at one of the critical moments of World War II—by an expert on the war in the Philippines. For many, Douglas MacArthur was a general to be ranked with Grant and Lee; for others he was much bluster and some cowardice, the "Dugout Doug" who abandoned his troops at Corregidor. The truth, according to military historian Richard Connaughton, lies somewhere in the middle. Douglas MacArthur was born into a military family in 1880, and the need to measure up to the heroic example set by his father would be the driving force behind his career. But MacArthur’s best qualities would forever be undone by his arrogance, vanity, deviousness, and a truly breathtaking capacity for making enemies—FDR chief among them—and so, when MacArthur arrived in the Philippines in the mid-30s it was as an exile from Roosevelt’s anger. The Philippines were something of a family business for the MacArthur clan (his father had distinguished himself there at the turn of the century), and MacArthur’s attitude toward the pre-war situation smacked of the military equivalent of papal infallibility. Against all the odds, he assured both Washington and the Philippine government of the islands’ defensibility in the case of a Japanese attack, and he consistently underestimated Japanese militarism and overestimated the strength and readiness of the Philippine army. In holding these views, Connaughton argues, MacArthur was proceeding on a notion which had as much romance to it as military good sense. Willfully blind to the impending crisis, and brashly confident of his own powers, the Philippines and MacArthur’s troops were vulnerable to attack when it came finally in late December of 1941. Connaughtons extensive research and compelling narrative come together to paint a judicious portrait of a courageous general and deeply flawed man. MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines is a must-have for anyone with an interest in modern history.