A Soldier's Story

New York: The Modern Library, 1999. The Modern Library Paperback Edition [stated]. First printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. 618, [1] pages. Maps. Illustrations. Appendix (Order of Battle, 12th Army Group, Organizational Charts, U.S. Field Army 1944; U. S. Infantry Division, 1944; U.S. Armored Division, 1944; Principal Persons). Glossary. Index. Introduction by A. J. Leibling. Caleb Carr was the Series Editor. General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 - April 8, 1981), was the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and oversaw the U.S. military's policy-making in the Korean War. Bradley took a position at the War Department under General Marshall. After the U.S. entrance into WWII, Bradley oversaw the transformation of the 82nd Infantry Division into the first American airborne division. Bradley commanded in II Corps in Operation Torch and in the Allied invasion of Sicily. He commanded the First United States Army during the Invasion of Normandy. He commanded the Twelfth Army Group, which ultimately comprised 1.3 million men, the largest body of American soldiers ever to serve under a single field commander. Derived from a Kirkus review: A closely reasoned and fully detailed book that gives the reader the sense of being on the inside with a very human, likable individual, who tells of those portions of the war in which he took part, with honesty, perspicacity, and a keen sense of pace and drama. There's definite news value in Bradley's handling of some of the issues:-disciplinary measures, troop morale, and problems of interservice training. The causes of mounting tension between Montgomery and Bradley will be of particular interest to readers. General Bradley makes no bones of his feeling that at sundry times, Montgomery's delaying tactics changed the overall plan of attack. In final analysis, this seems a wise and winning book, portraying a great man and a great soldier whose modesty subordinate his own contribution to victory, his own relations with the officers and men who served under him. It for all students of strategy and military procedure, and vigorous enough in the telling to hold the interest of the average layman.