American Caesar

Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964

By: William Manchester

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 31 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Virtually all Americans above a certain age hold strong opinions about Douglas MacArthur. They either worship him or despise him. Now, in this superb book, one of our most outstanding writers, after a meticulous three-year examination of the record, presents his startling insights about the man. The narrative is gripping, because the general's life was fascinating. It is moving, because he was a man of vision. It ends, finally, in tragedy, because his character, though majestic, was tragically flawed.

©1978 William Manchester (P)1991 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Listening to Parker, one imagines a jovial uncle delivering a slap on the back and sitting down to describe war experiences in a rich voice filled with humor and pathos. The 'you-are-there' quality grabs and holds. This is a carefully done, seamless audio presentation." ( AudioFile)

A more honest take on a hero

Not filled with hero worship like a few other books on The General. His successes are lauded as are his failures. I was looking for a balanced take and I believe this book delivered that.

A deep dive

At 32 hrs this is a cradle to grave biography. He was an amazing and competent military commander but always did what his “gut” told him. Ike probably was a better and more steady hand and Truman had more than good reason to relieve him from duty. But He was as American as the come.

Excellent book. Amazing life

Well read book. The General had an amazing life with so much impact. A true American hero. A must listen

EXCELLENT

This seems to be a well balanced picture of one of the greatest Americans. Manchester makes effort to point out the flaws in MacArthur's character as well as his genious as a military leader and statesmen.

If one reads one book on the life of this extrodinary man, this should be it.

Although, I did find I needed a dictionary at times to understand the author. And some may find some of the details a bit too much for thier liking.

Parker does an excellent job as narrator.

Despite the extranious details and PhD vocabulary, I found it gripping and truley enlighting to learn about one MacArthur's that spanned over 50 years as a military leader through both World Wars, Occupied Japan and the Korean War.

Moreover, I am saddened to realize that so many people of today are literally clueless as to what this one man has done for the world in terms of winning the war in the Pacific (along with
Fleet Admiral Nimitz), reconstruction of Japan, and shaping cold war policy in the wake of World
War II and the Korean War

Read or listen to the book to learn for yourself.

The baseline biography for MacArthur

Would you listen to American Caesar again? Why?

Yes. Grover Gardner delivers a wonderful reading of this classic biography. He voice is reminiscent of news reel narration from the '40s which provide the listener a feeling of nostalgia, this is especially true when he mispronounces several geographic names in Asia as well.

Who was your favorite character and why?

MacArthur. It's a book about MacArthur.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Grover Gardner?

Yes, but a period book set in the 1950's or before. His diction is quaint and he pronounces several words differently than current "broadcast" English.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way, this covers the entire life of General MacArthur with almost 32 hours of narration.

Any additional comments?

Manchester comes across as a fan of General MacArthur emphasizing greatness and genius with regularity. I think he recognized the danger of the biography becoming a "puff piece" and tried to provide some counterpoint by covering many examples of MacArthur's flawed reasoning, decisions and aspects of character. Although a sentimental and glowing biography, I came away with the feeling of a relatively reasonably balanced depiction of a human being thrust in extraordinary circumstance doing the best that he could.

Deep and fascinating

William Manchester's biography of Douglas MacArthur is engaging, well reported and insightful. It's also for the most part a balanced view, though readers/listeners familiar with Manchester know that he has an occasional propensity to offer up tasty, if almost certainly apocryphal, details and snarky editorializing.

While listening to the book, I asked a number of college-age people if they knew who MacArthur was, and not one did. I suppose that's inevitable. But it's still sad and remarkable that such a towering figure of American history could be forgotten so soon.

Tom Parker's narration is very good, though it takes awhile to get used to his somewhat tinny, "1940s radio" voice.

An excellent book, well worth the 40+ hours it takes to listen to it.

MANCHESTER AT HIS BEST

As the best historian of my lifetime William Manchester again delivers a detailed yet focused account of a most complex man.

a fantastic account of a fantastic man

highly recommend this work to anyone looking to better understand the US Army's most prominent General. A must read for military leaders.

Well balanced look at a complex man

Mac was a unique man, even in his time. This biography approaches him as a tragic hero but spends enough critical time with the tragic to balance the overall heroic portrayal. I deeply enjoyed the history and story of this singular man.

Incredible History told well

It was a huge undertaking to listen to 40 hours about Douglas MacArthur. But, I am so glad that I did. Both my mom and my Dad were over in Bataan/Corregidor. My Mom as an army nurse, my Dad in the Army. Though, it was difficult to hear the parts about Bataan and Corregidor.....I needed to know.

It was mind blowing to hear about the occupation of Japan. What a strange story and time. But, again, I needed to hear it.

Although, it was painful to hear about all the mistakes that were made....by everyone concerning the abandoning of the Philippines. I needed to hear as my Dad was part of the Bataan Death March.

It was well worth the time and money. It was well written and the story was told well by the narrator.