Donald Smythe

2818 Pershing: General of the Armies, by Donald Smythe (read 3 Jan 1996) This volume is much better than the first one and suffers from no defects. It covers from 1917 till his death on July 15, 1948. The book shows how near to defeat the Allies came in 1918, and it was painful to again travel those awful months. The last chapter of the book is a classic, and I reveled in the account of the funeral. An excellent book.

2817 Guerrilla Warrior: The Early Life of John J. Pershing, by Donald Smythe (read 1 Jan 1996) This book does an adequate job telling of Pershing's life, but the author is not a great writer and the book seems kind of patched together. Pershing was at West Point 1882-1886, then in New Mexico and in South Dakota. In 1891 he was professor of military science at Nebraska U., where he did very well. Then he was in Montana, and in 1897 he was tactical officer at West Point, where he was show more considered a martinet and cordially hated. He was in Cuba for the Spanish-American War and had three tours of duty in the Philippines. His most famous time was in 1916, chasing Villa in Mexico--where he earned the fame that gave him the big chance. This was well worth reading and I am looking forward to the second volume. show less