Louis Johnson And the Arming of America: The Roosevelt And Truman Years

by Keith D. McFarland, David L. Roll

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Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Louis Johnson was FDR’s Assistant Secretary of War and the architect of the industrial mobilization plans that put the nation on a war footing prior to its entry into World War II. Later, as Truman’s Secretary of Defense, Johnson was given the difficult job of unifying the armed forces and carrying out Truman’s orders to dramatically reduce defense expenditures. In both administrations, he was asked to confront and carry out extremely unpopular initiatives—massive undertakings that each president believed were vital to the nation’s security and economic welfare. Johnson’s conflicts with Henry Morganthau, Secretary of War Harry H. Woodring, Winston Churchill, Harry Hopkins, Dean Acheson, Averell Harriman, and Paul Nitze find contemporary parallels in the recent disagreements between the national defense establishment and the State Department.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 5 out of 5 stars

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Another superb selection by CSAF, 2008-06-25
This is another title that reminds me why truly excellent books are named by the Chief of Staff Air Force to his annual reading list.

Anyone interested in 20th century American defense and the emergence of the military/industrial complex should include this in their reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Politics and war, 2006-01-09
History buffs will love this book. Roll and McFarland have done an exception job in explaining a very interesting and important part of our history--the lead-up to WWII, the election of Truman, and the preparation for the Korean War--through Louis Johnson, assistant secretary of war and secretary of defense. The style of the book reminds me a lot of No Ordinary Time, an exception book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. A great read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Required reading for West Virginians, Washingtonians, and historians, 2006-01-04
It was fascinating to read about a fellow West Virginian's trials and tribulations in Washington. The book improved my understanding of the politics surrounding the US entry into World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Moreover, the story of Louis Johnson serves as a great cautionary tale of how naked ambition can derail otherwise promising careers in government and politics.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Absorbing narrative of a player in "Interesting times", 2005-12-14
This history can be fairly grouped with McCullough's "Truman" and Acheson's "Present at the Creation" for any study of postwar (WWII) national and international politics. I found it a quick and easy read, informative and well written.

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