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Supreme Commander: MacArthur's Triumph in Japan Audiobook
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Seymour Morris Jr. combines political history, military biography, and business management to tell the story of General Douglas MacArthur's tremendous success in rebuilding Japan after World War II in Supreme Commander, a lively, in-depth work of biographical history complementary to The Generals, The Storm of War, and Truman.
He is the most decorated general in American history—and the only five five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur's greatest victory was not in war but in peace.
As the uniquely titled Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he was charged with transforming a defeated, militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy—“the greatest gamble ever attempted,” he called it. A career military man, MacArthur had no experience in politics, diplomacy, or economics. A vain, reclusive, and self-centered man, his many enemies in Washington thought he was a flaming peacock, and few, including President Harry Truman's closest advisors, gave him a chance of succeeding. Yet MacArthur did so brilliantly, defying timetables and expectations.
Supreme Commander tells for the first time, the story of how MacArthur's leadership achieved a nation-building success that had never been attempted before—and never replicated since. Seymour Morris Jr. reveals this flawed man at his best who treated a defeated enemy with respect; who made informed and thoughtful decisions yet could be brash and stubborn when necessary, and who lead the Occupation with intelligence, class, and compassion.
Morris analyzes MacArthur's key tactical choices, explaining how each contributed to his accomplishment, and paints a detailed picture of a true patriot—a man of conviction who proved to be an outstanding and effective leader in the most extraordinary circumstances.
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“Morris accessibly shows how MacArthur managed to implement a number of reforms in postwar Japan, including a new constitution, land reform, and giving women the right to vote, while at the same time encouraging Japan to disarm peacefully and formally renounce any future war plans…Morris shows that while MacArthur has been rightfully honored for his leadership of American forces in the Pacific during World War II, his performance in leading Japan from war to peace should be considered one of his finest accomplishments…A well-crafted history of an underappreciated aspect of MacArthur's career.”
— Library Journal
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“A famous journalist once said of Douglas MacArthur, ‘He could be magnificently right and magnificently wrong at the same time.’ Fortunately, as the postwar ruler of occupied Japan, MacArthur was more right than wrong, and Seymour Morris captures his brilliant method of command, at once judicious, imperious, and humble. A very readable and instructional treatment of a misunderstood figure.”
— Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Sea of Thunder -
“Morris tells in dramatic detail how this ultimate warrior, almost overnight, became the ultimate peacemaker, turning a devastated, militarized Japan into a functioning democracy in five years without firing a shot. Considering how we have recently squandered billions of dollars attempting to rebuild Iraq, one wishes the man with the corncob pipe had been in charge. Or that someone in the government had bothered to open a history book.”
— James Bamford, New York Times bestselling author of Body of Secrets -
“Businessman and historian Morris argues that success of the occupation of Japan after WWII was primarily due to the enlightened leadership of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the only American to ever receive the ‘majestic title’ of ‘Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.’…Morris has produced not just a good general history of the occupation, but a powerful argument that MacArthur continues to warrant his place as one of the great generals in American history.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“An unabashedly admiring reappraisal of Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) as supreme protector of a great fallen nation at the close of World War II…A gung-ho, breezily entertaining study for lay readers.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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About Seymour Morris
Seymour Morris Jr. is an international business entrepreneur and former head of corporate communications for the world’s largest management consulting firm. His articles on management and leadership have appeared in numerous magazines and books. His first book, American History Revised, was published in 2010. Now a full-time historian, he has written his second book about one of the greatest acts of American leadership, Supreme Commander. Morris holds an AB in American History from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in New York City.
About Charles Constant
Charles Constant is an actor whose professional storytelling career began at the age of thirteen, when he became an Actors’ Equity Association apprentice. An accomplished audiobook narrator, he has recorded many popular titles, including How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban.