There's a War to Be Won The United States Army in World War II [Paperback]

THERE'S A WAR TO BE WON is the landmark story of one of the greatest armies in history, a conscript force of amateur soldiers who had an unparalleled record of combat success. Here -- for the first time in one volume -- is the chronicle of the United States Army's dramatic mobilization and stunning march to victory in World War II.
In a lively and engrossing narrative that spans theaters of operations around the world, Geoffrey Perret tells how the Army was drafted, trained, organized, armed, and led at every stage of the war. Beginning with the prescient military planners of the 1930s, he offers vivid warts-and-all profiles of the farsighted commanders who would lead the way, men like Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Ridgway, Bradley, and Patton.
Drawing heavily on important new source material in major archives throughout the United States, THERE'S A WAR TO BE WON offers new insights into the wartime Army, its commanders, and its battles. A major work of American military history.
"An immensely readable, well-researched history . . . Dramatic." -- Chicago TribuneGeoffrey Perretwas educated at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. He was enlisted in the US Army for three years and is the author of the acclaimed books Ulysses S. Grant and Eisenhower. He lives in England with his wife.Introduction
 
Young men who joined the Army in the summer of 1958 were the last of the brown-shoe soldiers. The mode militaire that year was green/black and brown/browner. What you got was a World War II set of uniforms, plus a kind of business suit in green with black shoes and boots to set off the toot ensemble.
 
We didn’t know who we were. Were we real soldiers, with our nifty, tight-fitting Ike jackets, brothers—at least in the mirror—of the men who’d rolled with Patton, stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy, thrashed the Japanese in the biggest land bal£!