Walter R. Borneman

This book aptly demonstrates that warts rather than freckles should be used to characterize MacArthur during WW 2. He started badly; by creating a poorly trained and led Philippine Army and by neglecting to plan and stock for a siege at Corregidor and Bataan. Then, compounded these serious strategic errors by allowing virtually his entire air force to be destroyed on the ground in the days following Pearl Harbor. Giving him the Medal of Honor was a travesty made as a political decision to show more create a hero for the country to look up to.

His public pronouncements and private letters to public figures bemoaned his lack of resources from day 1 until the Japanese surrender. His military accomplishments were often competent and often well- executed but he could never get enough praise. He and his staff extolled his low casualty rate which frequently exceeded all other theaters of war. After his well-publicized wade ashore in the Philippines, he became addicted to same and repeated it frequently. Never available to meet with Marshall or Nimitz because of the press of his command presence; he managed to be on the scene of landings for these additional photo opportunities. Even more flagrantly, he caused many casualties by insisting that many Island sites, be invaded rather than bypassed.

Brazenly brave, intelligent, capable but deeply flawed was this "Macarthur at War" show less

A masterful account of the people, politics, and policies of the US Navy in World War Two. The presentation is unusual as it presents simultaneous although somewhat thin biographical accounts of the four most important admirals during the war: King, Nimitz, Halsey, and Leahy. Interwoven into this theme is a stirring narrative that takes the reader behind the scenes of some of the most important events of the Second World War, revealing the personalities of these men and the conflicts and show more controversies, great and petty, in which they were engaged. Great read about larger than life characters that should be read by anyone curious about how this war was fought at sea. One only wishes the author had been able to give this subject multi-volume treatment it deserved. show less

A good summary of the lives and accomplishments of the nations' five star admirals. I wanted to learn something about these men without hefting the volumes that have been written about each and this book fit that need. It's concise, yet descriptive and at the end, I felt like I knew each person. The book interweaves their careers as they arose similarly after near simultaneous graduation from the USNA and stepped up to contribute their talents to win WWII in their own ways. As it seems show more always happens with a biography, the author falls in love with his characters and doesn't outline faults too much, although one an hardly miss Halsey's controversy. The book demonstrated the personal relationships that each had with the other. Masterful account. show less

Reading about the lived experiences of great personalities arms us in two ways:

1.) It prevents us from committing the same mistakes.
2.) It empowers us to hone some fundamental principles of leadership and life to make our own existence worthwhile.

Borneman successfully brings out the above two factors in his The Admirals, a biographical retelling of the lives and leadership of the United State's four only five-star Admirals who while transforming the face of Naval Operations also transformed show more their country into the Marine juggernaut it is today. These four were the pugnacious Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey who commanded the Third Fleet in the South Pacific region; the innovative Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, the CNC for the entire Pacific Naval theatre of war; the bellicose Fleet Admiral Ernest King who was appointed CNC for the entire United States Navy and the laconic Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy who became the White House's de facto Chairman of the then embryonic Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Borneman lucidly underscores the origins of these four, the tragedies which shaped them and their perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds threatening to deaden their careers. For Halsey, Naval aviation and the ability envision a radical progression from battleships to Naval carriers proved his salvation; for Nimitz advances in submarine warfare heralded the ressurection of his career while King and Leahy found lifelines in the world of strategic policy making. The Admirals convincingly argues that these were not random cards dealt out by a careless twist of fate but rather reorientations which all four men tightly embraced having forecast that technological innovation would forever alter the role of the Navy in future conflicts.

The most groundbreaking facet of this book, besides its easy to understand language and avoidance of over-the-top maritime lingo and detail, is its exoneration of Leahy from baseless charges of political kowtowing and substantiation of the fact that all four Admirals harmonized their efforts to crush the Axis on both land and sea in WWII. King's strategic vision allowed him to preserve marine lifelines which allowed the unhampered movement of men and material to various battlefields across the Atlantic and within Europe. Nimitz worked hard and fast to upgrade submersible capabilities to render death blows to both German and Japanese marine combatants targeting these lifelines. Halsey pursued the Japanese Navy tirelessly with his hit hard, hit fast and hit often tactics to keep them away from Nimitz's plans while Leahy focused the White House's military-industrial policy without devolving into a yes man as many uninformed historians are wont to accuse him of.

Overall, The Admirals is a grand lesson in the craft of leadership. Leahy led by bluntness and voicing his opinions to the President of the United States; King focused on encouraging tactical initiative in his men; Halsey narrowed in on battlefield deficiencies while Nimitz merged technology and tradition to annihilate the foe. In their own way all four collectively reimagined American maritime dominance over the world's oceans and worked to generate the marine power required to make their homeland superior in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.

While the ending is anticlimactic given that the deaths of all four were rapid, one is left with a sense of awe at being allowed an ephemeral glimpse into the hearts and minds of four Admirals who found themselves pitted against two sanguinary foes on multiple fronts and effectively annihilated them. Well worth a read for all would-be leaders and professional soldiers. show less