• American Caesar

  • Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964
  • By: William Manchester
  • Narrated by: Grover Gardner
  • Length: 31 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,410 ratings)

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American Caesar  By  cover art

American Caesar

By: William Manchester
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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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)

What listeners say about American Caesar

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great material. Well read.

McArthur was a complex and gifted leader. This biography treats him fairly and brings to light many facts that have been buried or misinterpreted by previous treatments. It is neither fawning hagiography nor poisonous character assination. It was a great listening experience.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • RB
  • 02-08-11

Very informative book on Mac Arthur

I am a history buff and thought I knew alot about Mac Arthur. This book informed me on many things I did not know about Mac Arthur. Including his family back and his thought process on many things he was involved in. I was very impressed with this book and highly recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thorough and well narrated

Good thorough telling of the life of MacArthur. The narration is well done. The audio design is at times is poor where it is not seamless between clips (you can tell where they patched together different readings of the material) mainly in volume changes. Those areas are distracting. Overall still recommend for a very detailed look at MacArthur.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

Really artful telling of the great general's story, especially at the beginning of the Manila retreat to Bataan.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous read!

As a young man I had no knowledge of MacArthur what so ever. I read this because I'm interested in military history and my grandfather served under him in The Pacific. This was a fabulous read; entertaining all the way through. I found myself laughing aloud at his antics and bravado. If I ever had "The Dinner" where I could invite people dead or alive, Mac would be seated at my immediate left

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Manchester...true to form - Excellent

I didn't think i would like this book, but was mistaken. Wm. Manchester can bring life to history. And MacArthur's life was fascinating great virtue...great folly

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Greatest book....WHAT A MAN !

Greatest book...WHAT A MAN, WHAT A SOLDIER !
Not many men like this one around anymore !

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great portrait of an enigmatic man

This biography of General MacArthur explains the bipolarity of the subject’s character and deeds. The author uses the bugle calls that blow through the day to tell the story of a man who experienced warfare in the extremes like few others.

Potentially perceived as kind to MacArthur, the author is fair in telling his strengths and weaknesses.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

They don’t make them like MacArthur anymore

A classic of biographical literature. A great and very flawed man but, mostly great. Excellent performance. Even handed biography.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent, even if you aren’t a MacArthur fan

Very well told, performed, and overall story. I am not in the General MacArthur fan club but this gave great perspective into his character and motivations.

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