Kenneth Ray Young

A very well done book about a most interesting man. Arthur MacArthur might be mostly remembered as the father of Douglas, but he had an extraordinary Army career, beginning in the American Civil War when he started off as just a seventeen year old lieutenant in 1862, but by the end of the war he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Later on, after serving on the frontier and in Washington DC, he fought in the Philippine–American War as a major general. Just before retirement he was promoted show more to lieutenant general, only the twelve person to hold that high a rank. And there is much, much more to his story. The author writes well and the book is a good read. Highly recommended. show less

2707 The General's General: The Life and Times of Arthur MacArthur, by Kenneth Ray Young (read 14 Feb 1995) The subject is Douglas MacArthur's father. He was born in Chicopee, Mass. June 2, 1845 and died dramatically while giving a speech in Milwaukee on Sept 5, 1912. He lied about his age to get into the Civil War, and had a heroic career in that war. He stayed in the Army and became a general in the Philippines in the early 1900's. This book is not well-written, and its documentation is show more sporadic--sometimes going to primary sources and at other times content with a single secondary source. All in all, this was a good book to read. MacArthur was a sixth cousin once removed of both FDR and Winston Churchill. show less