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AMERICAN WARLORDS: How Roosevelt's High Command Led America to Victory in World War II Jonathan W. Jordan, NAL Caliber, New York, 2015, 624 pages
American Warlords is a popular biography of four key American World War II leaders: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Gen. George Catlett Marshall, and Adm. Ernest J. King. Author Jonathan Jordan examines the impact of these leaders, or warlords, as he often refers to them, on the American war effort. This books spans from 1940 to 1945 and tends to focus on the strategic level. That is not to say that it is an impersonal, dull look at strategy; rather, it examines the men who made American strategy and how they overcame the monumental challenges they faced, including the mistakes they made. In this regard, Jordan does an admirable job providing a vivid account of the daily pressures these men endured, with the fate of the Nation, and even the world, in the balance.
Jordan organizes the book into a prologue, three chronological parts, and an epilogue. The prologue sets the stage by recounting one of America's tragedies-the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The initial installment of the three major parts of the book is titled "Bringing the War Home: 1940-1941." This section not only discusses the events leading to American involvement in World War II but also provides background on the strategic leaders upon...