Lemnitzer: A Soldier for His Time (Association of the United States Army S.) - Tapa dura

This is the first biography of the Army general who, after achieving greatness in the very highest posts in his own service, went on to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, during one of the Cold War's most potentially explosive periods. A quiet, unassuming young man from a small Pennsylvania manufacturing town, Lemnitzer endured serving as a low-ranking lieutenant for fifteen years in some of the U.S. Army's most obscure posts. Yet eight years after finally becoming a captain, he was a general, the principal planner of the invasion of North Africa, and deputy chief of staff of the 15th Army Group in Italy. Never lacking for physical courage, he led, with Mark Clark, one of World War II's most celebrated cloak-and-dagger missions, a dangerous submarine trip behind German lines in North Africa. Later, disguised as a civilian, he slipped into France and Switzerland to help negotiate the surrender of a million German troops fighting in Italy. During the Korean War, Lemnitzer commanded the 7th Infantry Division and subsequently was commander in chief of the Far East Command. Toward the end of his distinguished career, he was at the peak of his profession - Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Eisenhower and then Kennedy. He gracefully overcame being unfairly blamed for the debacle at the Bay of Pigs to serve brilliantly as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

- Provides new insights into the Bay of Pigs invasion

- With Mark Clark Lemnitzer led one of World War II's most celebrated doak-and-dagger missions, a dangerous submarine trip behind German lines

- Disguised as a civilian, he slipped into Switzerland to help negotiate the surrender of German forces in Italy

Eight years after becoming a captain, Lyman L. Lemnitzer was a general and a key architect of some of World War II's most crucial campaigns. Toward the end of his distinguished 51-year career, Lemnitzer was at the peak of his profession -- Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Eisenhower and then Kennedy. He gracefully overcame being unfairly blamed for the CIA's debacle in Cuba to serve brilliantly as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

Drawing extensively on diaries, oral histories, personal correspondence, and recently released government files, L. James Binder paints a portrait of a good-natured, ordinary-seeming man of extraordinary courage and capability.