The fate of the generals MacArthur, Wainwright, and the epic battle for the Philippines

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a conniving glory hound who sold out his second-in-command, Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, according to this incisive chronicle. Historian Horn (Washington's End) recaps the 1941 Japanese invasion of the Philippines, when MacArthur was hailed as a hero after his men on the Bataan peninsula held out for several months despite facing starvation. But Horn argues that MacArthur bungled the campaign, stayed relatively safe and well-fed, and was derelict in abandoning his men for Australia. The real hero, Horn contends, was Wainwright, who skillfully led the troops at the front and shared their hardships. From Australia, Horn notes, MacArthur ordered Wainwright not to surrender despite the hopelessness of resistance, then smeared Wainwright as "unbalanced" when he surrendered and went into captivity with his soldiers, where he endured brutal treatment by the Japanese. Horn also describes how MacArthur tried to quash efforts to award Wainwright the Congressional Medal of Honor. Horn's profile is a colorful addition to the library of disparaging MacArthur portraits, depicting the general as a self-obsessed prima donna and Wainwright as his opposite: a stoic, self-deprecating cavalryman, devoted to the well-being of his men, who agonized over the moral dilemma of choosing between pointless carnage and shameful surrender. The result is a perceptive take on the psychology of military leadership. (Apr.)

A dual biography of two American generals who took part in that epic 1941-45 campaign. One was a heroic leader awarded the Medal of Honor in 1945. The other was General Douglas MacArthur. Having discovered much new material, journalist and former White House speechwriter Horn, author ofThe Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee's Civil War and His Decision That Changed American History, works hard to emphasize the lesser-known Jonathan Wainwright (1883-1953). Son of an army officer, Wainwright, like MacArthur, was first a captain of West Point's Corps of Cadets and progressed steadily to become senior field commander of Philippine Forces under MacArthur. Never intending to defend the Philippines, American military leaders formulated a defensive plan in which our forces would retreat to the jungles of the Bataan peninsula, where they would hold out until rescued. MacArthur considered himself a warrior--and warriors don't defend; they attack. When the Japanese invaded in December 1941, he ignored the plan and proclaimed that his forces would repel the enemy wherever they landed. When, within weeks, this failed everywhere, he changed his mind, but it was too late to ship enough supplies to Bataan. As a result, the half-starved soldiers who vastly outnumbered the Japanese were doomed. MacArthur left for Australia in March 1942, leaving Wainwright to fight on and then surrender in June. Horn delivers a gripping if painful account of Wainwright's short command and long, miserable imprisonment. In an extraordinarily mean-spirited act, MacArthur vetoed the decision to award him a Medal of Honor in 1942. Once freed, Wainwright was surprised that America did not blame him for the surrender, treated him as a hero, and awarded him a belated Medal of Honor. Always a loyal subordinate, he never criticized MacArthur and even delivered the nominating speech in his abortive 1948 run for president. An admirable, often successful attempt to bring Wainwright out of MacArthur's shadow. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.