There's a War to Be Won: The United States Army in World War II

by Geoffrey Perret

Overview

THERE'S A WAR TO BE WON is the landmark story of one of the greatest armies in history, a conscript force of amateur soldiers who had an unparalleled record of combat success. Here — for the first time in one volume — is the chronicle of the United States Army's dramatic mobilization and stunning march to victory in World War II.
In a lively and engrossing narrative that spans theaters of operations around the world, Geoffrey Perret tells how the Army was drafted, trained, organized, armed, and led at every stage of the war. Beginning with the prescient military planners of the 1930s, he offers vivid warts-and-all profiles of the farsighted commanders who would lead the way, men like Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Ridgway, Bradley, and Patton.
Drawing heavily on important new source material in major archives throughout the United States, THERE'S A WAR TO BE WON offers new insights into the wartime Army, its commanders, and its battles. A major work of American military history.
"An immensely readable, well-researched history . . . Dramatic." — Chicago Tribune

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345419095
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/23/1997
Pages:	656
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Geoffrey Perret was educated at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. He was enlisted in the US Army for three years and is the author of the acclaimed books Ulysses S. Grant and Eisenhower. He lives in England with his wife.

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Introduction
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Excerpted from "There's a War to Be Won"
by .
Copyright © 1997 Geoffrey Perret.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Vivid portraits and interesting facts fill this engrossing chronicle of the creation and deployment of World War II's U.S. Army. BOMC and History Book Club selections in cloth. Photos. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This is a brassy, forceful case study expanding the thesis of A Country Made by War ( LJ 6/1/89): the U.S., far from being a babe in the military woods, has been extraordinarily successful in developing and employing armed forces. Perret argues that in World War II the U.S. Army did so many things so well that its achievements have largely gone unnoticed. Trained and commanded by some of the world's best professional soldiers, American draftees lost only one battle: Kasserine Pass in 1943. Thereafter, neither Germans nor Japanese were able to do more than temporarily check an army that, from the forward foxholes to the desks of GHQ, demonstrated unusual ability to adapt to challenges and circumstances. Perret's colloquial style and clear narrative enhance his presentation of a wartime creation that by 1945 was years ahead of any of its counterparts. Recommended for all collections on World War II. Previewed in ``The Day of Infamy in Print,'' LJ 9/1/91.--Ed.-- Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs

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