Pershing (Book Review)

I had heard the name of General Pershing a couple of times and the only thing I could remember was that he was the all-time second-highest ranked general in the history of the Army, after George Washington was officially promoted above him in the 1970s. When a reviewer’s copy was offered of John Perry’s latest book “Pershing: Commander of the Great War” as part of The Generals series, I jumped at the chance to learn more about this apparently incredible military commander.

For the book itself, I highly recommend it. Perry walks the reader through General Pershing life in enough detail to answer most of the questions the average reader would want to know in the process of reading the book but not too much as to overwhelm or to let the reader become bored. General Pershing, himself, couldn’t do that as his autobiography was 869 pages long with exacting detail.

Reader beware! Don’t look at the pictures until after reading the entire book. There was one particular picture describing a major event of his life included far before the text itself detailed the event. That soured the reading experience a bit.

General Pershing is written to be an amazing man. He entered West Point as a way to get a cheap education toward his goal of becoming a lawyer and ended up never leaving the military. A fair man who, when serving overseas, did not treat native (barbaric in some sense) peoples poorly but with respect. He stood his ground to French and British commanders in WWI when the U.S. was still the new kid of the block. General Pershing was a military statesman.

Even if you are not a military history buff, this book is a great read that give you insight to American’s most forgotten military hero.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to give a positive review. Links to the book in this review are affiliate links. This review is fully my opinion and not a paid advertisement.