West Point 1915

Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fell On

De: Michael E. Haskew

Narrado por: Tom Zingarelli

West Point's class of 1915 is the academy's most important in history. The cadets of the United States Military Academy, West Point, are intimately twined with the country's history. The graduating class of 1915, the class the stars fell on, was particularly noteworthy. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36 percent) attained the rank of general, the most of any class. Although Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, both five-star generals, are the most recognizable, other class members contributed significantly to the Allied victory in World War I and World War II. They also played key roles either in the postwar US military establishment or in business and industry after World War II, especially in the Korean War and the formation of NATO. For more than half a century, these men exerted tremendous influence on the shaping of modern America, which remains substantial to this day. Individually, the stories of these military and political leaders are noteworthy. Collectively, they are astonishing. West Point 1915 explores the achievements of this remarkable group.

©2014 Michael Haskew (P)2017 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A superb examination of how West Point turned out the military leaders who led America to victory in World War II." (Alex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of The Longest Winter)

Exceptional

“The Class the Stars Fell On” named this because 59 of its 164 (36%) graduates attained the rank of brigadier general or higher, the most of any class in the history of West Point. The class that held this title prior to the 1915 class was the class of 1886 which had 32% of its graduate obtain a general’s rank; most notable were Pershing, Menoher and Patrick. Of the class of 1915 two obtained the rank of five-star generals, two became (four star) generals and seven (three star) Lieutenant generals, twenty-four (two star) major generals and twenty-four (one star) brigadier generals and one became the president of the United States. This class did have the advantage of two world wars and the Korean War which allowed fast advancement.

Haskew provides some information about George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur and how they effected these graduates. Haskew only covers a few of the most famous members of this class of 1915 such as Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, Stafford Irwin, Hubert Harmon, Roscoe Woodruff, and Joseph McNarney to name a few. The author also provided more information about Luis R. Esteves who was the first member of the class to obtain the rank of brigadier general. Esteves was also the first Puerto Rican to graduate from West Point. Haskew also provides an overview history of West Point.

The book is well written and researched. The book is moderately short at seven and a half hours long so the information provided is abbreviated. For those interested in military history, the book does provide a good overview of some key people and provides a launching point for those seeking more in-depth information about key generals.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Tom Zingarelli does a good job narrating the book. Zingarelli is an actor, voice-over artist and award-winning audiobook narrator. Zingarelli is famous as the voice of Maurice the Mouse.

An excellent book and study about an extraordinary group of army officers

These were men who met the challenge of the hour. It’s an almost encyclopedic study of a variety of members of the West Point class of 1915, which included General Bradley and General Eisenhower, among many others, almost 1/3 of the graduates of that class ended up wearing the rank of general at one point it was a simply excellent book.

Great Book

This book was great. The narrator was reminiscent of Cronkite. All in all, a very enjoyable listen.

boring with a few moments

some good moments but not highly engaging, jumps around a bit and at times hard to follow. a meh listen