By Lee Duran
Globe Columnist
JOPLIN, Mo. —
When President Barack Obama fired Gen. Stanley McCrystal for talking when he should have been listening, it reminded me of another general who suffered the same fate. President Harry S. Truman lowered the boom on Gen. Douglas MacArthur on April 11, 1951, but all I knew about the road leading up to that conclusion was superficial at best.
So naturally, I turned to a book. In this case the book is “American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964” by William Manchester, published in 1978. About 700 pages long, the book is a marvel of research, detail and readable writing. If Manchester missed anything, I can’t imagine what it might have been.
MacArthur was apparently loved and hated with equal ferocity. When I told a former Air Force pilot I was reading a book about MacArthur, his swift comeback was a scornful “dugout Doug.”
In fact, the general defied danger at every turn, to the consternation of his staff. That he survived intact through World War I, World War II and Korea is astonishing. By and large acknowledged a military genius, he was also acknowledged to be self-impressed and completely unable to admit mistakes.
One particular paragraph in the book struck me: “It is ironic that MacArthur and the leathernecks (Marines) never admired each other. He was their kind of general, and they were his kind of troops. Both were vain, colorful, proud Ñ and terrific fighters.”
Manchester was a Marine (there’s no such thing as an ex-Marine), and I was indoctrinated into Marine lore early on by my husband, who went into the corps as a 17-year-old private and retired as a captain.
Loose lips, as the Navy says, sinks ships Ñ and careers. When the McCrystal fat went into the fire, you could have stuck a fork in him; he was done. In the military, you can bitch among yourselves but “off the record” is the road to ruin.
Why did he do it? He knew the likely result; he had to know. I knew, and I was a lowly dependent. Normally, if things get too bad the military man retires or simply doesn’t ship over and then speaks up. He sure doesn’t publically denounce his civilian leaders while in uniform, not even if it’s true.
I’ve read the book about MacArthur and it’s great. I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
Now I’m waiting for the McCrystal book. Because I know what happened but I sure don’t know why.
Along the same lines: According to Shelf Awareness, Simon & Schuster has released “Truman Fires MacArthur,” an “instant e-book” based upon David McCullough’s account of the showdown between Truman and MacArthur.
The mini-e-book is excerpted from McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “Truman.” It “depicts a conflict that parallels the challenges President Obama has faced with his top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McCrystal.”
Told you so.
A great idea for selling books
The Minnesota Daily has reported on a book club that blends “improvisational comedy, literary analysis and alcohol.”
Jeff Kamin’s “Books and Bars” takes place the second Tuesday of every month at Bryant Lake Bowl theater, “making it the largest and loosest book club in the Twin Cities.” It’s co-sponsored by Magers and Quinn Booksellers and The Onion.
Another great success story
Myrrha Stanford-Smith, of Wales, has sold a trilogy about William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe to British publisher Honno Press.
Big deal, you say? Stanford-Smith is 82 years old and although her first book, “The Big Lie,” is on bookshelves, she’s got two more to write Ñ daunting at any age.
She’s as surprised as anyone else. She told BBC News: “’I had to put the phone down and ring them back as I was so taken aback by the whole thing. I’d been waiting for the manuscript to be sent back really, rejected. It was such a wonderful surprise,’”
Her publisher recently posted a note that “we have been overwhelmed with manuscripts and are currently not accepting any more until October 1, 2010.”
Overwhelmed and then some, I’d guess.
