Library Journal
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George C. Marshall (1880–1959)—best known for the U.S. Marshall Plan, the post-World War II economic assistance package aimed at boosting Western Europe's recovery—had a long and distinguished career ranging from staff positions during the First World War to serving as secretary of defense during the Korean War. Roll (The Hopkins Touch) recants Marshall's life, particularly his military and diplomatic positions, all the while emphasizing the personal moral code by which Marshall lived. The progression of Marshall's career is noted, and a significant number of pages are devoted to World War II, during which Marshall was the army chief of staff. He later served as secretary of state under President Harry Truman, at which time he gave the Harvard lecture regarding the postwar rebuilding plan that was the first televised State Department speech in history. There already exist a number of Marshall biographies, ranging from those similar to this title to Forrest Pogue's four-volume set. Roll claims that perspectives and attitudes regarding Marshall have changed and new sources have emerged since many previous works were published, and while the author does a fine job here, the market seems saturated. VERDICT Recommended for those interested in the latest World War II biographies. [See Prepub Alert, 1/7/19.]—Matthew Wayman, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., Schuylkill Haven

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

An overdue, authoritative biography of one of America's greatest soldier-statesmen.Roll (The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler, 2013, etc.) emphasizes that George Marshall (1880-1959), a brilliant staff officer, always impressed his superiors. A favorite of Cmdr. John Pershing, he became aide-de-camp when the general served as Army Chief of Staff from 1921 to 1924, and few were surprised when Marshall attained that office in 1939. The author excels in describing the period from Germany's 1939 invasion of Poland until Pearl Harbor, when Marshall urged rearmament and Franklin Roosevelt, aware that most voters opposed it, proceeded too cautiously for his taste. Opposition vanished after Pearl Harbor, to be replaced by questions of strategy, and here, Marshall's record is spotty. He advised defeating Germany before taking the offensive against Japan and invading France in 1942 or 1943 instead of expending resources on the periphery: North Africa and Italy. Always congenial, Roosevelt agreed and then, after listening to public opinion, Churchill, and other advisers, changed his mind. After the war, President Harry Truman sent Marshall to China to end its civil war in what everyone agrees was an impossible assignment. Appointed secretary of state in 1947, he vigorously supported the European Recovery Program, which became known as the Marshall Plan. He resigned in 1949 but returned as secretary of defense in 1950 during the nadir of the Korean War, when he helped restore confidence in the armed forces. He resigned permanently in 1951 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, the only serving military officer to do so. Roll admits that America would have won World War II even with a less competent chief of staff, and many of his decisions remain controversial, but he was a thoroughly admirable, surprisingly quirk-free figure who, even during his life, seemed larger-than-life.Despite not straying far from the almost universal veneration, this is a definitive, nuanced portrait. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Judging that Marshall merits a new biography, Roll embarks on a treatment that gives greater emphasis to periods of Marshall's military and government career outside WWII. Commissioned an army officer in 1902, the young Marshall earned a reputation as an expert in operational planning from maneuvers in the Philippines in 1914. His skill was put to the test four years later, when, as the operations chief for General John Pershing, Marshall organized the 1918 American offensives against German forces. Detailing the battles that ensued (Cantigny and the Meuse/Argonne), Roll underscores the positive impression Marshall made on Pershing, who supported Marshall ever after. From FDR appointing Marshall as army chief in 1939, Roll develops Marshall's role in the Washington political milieu, recounting his interactions with influential legislators, cabinet secretaries, and presidents. This theme, of Marshall as a DC player, expands at length when Roll examines, after a narrative of Marshall's failure to mediate the Chinese civil war in 1945-46, the now Secretary of State Marshall's advocacy for the European aid program that popularly bore his name, and later, as Secretary of Defense, his handling of the Korean War and the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur. As biographer of a key DC insider of the FDR era in The Hopkins Touch (2013), Roll is superbly well-suited for this approach to Marshall, and displays insight and balance in portraying his subject's personal life and sterling character. A solid addition to twentieth-century American history.--Gilbert Taylor Copyright 2010 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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Lawyer Roll (The Hopkins Touch) continues profiling members of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations with this authoritative and engaging biography of George C. Marshall, the five-star general who served as FDR's chief of staff during WWII and both secretary of state and secretary of defense for President Truman. Roll convincingly argues that Marshall's character made him "the most revered and trusted figure in Washington" and delves deeply into Marshall's humility, judgment, and preference for delivering constructive criticism directly to his superiors. Marshall's deserved reputation for integrity, Roll posits, proved key to his ability to dictate Allied military strategy and build bipartisan consensus for the relief bill for postwar Europe that would later be known as the Marshall Plan. Roll enlivens the narrative by including some previously unpublished correspondence and excerpts from the memoirs of Marshall's second wife, Katherine Marshall, and family friend Rosa Page Wilson, which portray a doting husband and devoted family man with a dry sense of humor. While Roll's admiration for Marshall is obvious, he is unafraid to point out Marshall's mistakes and failures (including his refusal to integrate the army and the failure of his 1946 mission to unite China's nationalist and communist governments). This well-written and captivating book will stand as the definitive biography of Marshall. Agent: John Wright, John W. Wright Literary Agency. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

George C. Marshall's native genius for organization and logistics was recognized early in his military career. Playing a key role in two world wars, one as a quickly rising staff officer and the other as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prepared him for a role as secretary of state and as the architect behind the redevelopment of postwar Europe and US interactions with newly Red China. This is a career biography, offering little (besides photographs) about Marshall as a person except about his character as a working soldier and committed American, focusing chiefly on his service under Roosevelt and Truman. The author makes effective and balanced use of primary and secondary sources. This reviewer likes this book more than Cray's General of the Army (CH, Oct'90, 28-1145) because it gives more insight to circumstances and decision-making beyond the political context, emphasizing Marshall as a staunch nonpartisan. A large and detailed work, yet the text reads very well as a story, so the volume is good for public as well as academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. --Richard L Saunders, Southern Utah University