This is the story of a military genius whose amazing career spanned half a century of patriotic service at home and abroad, on the decisive battlefields of three wars and in the days of peace. Following in the footsteps of his officer-father, Douglas MacArthur, a brilliant West Point man, made soldiering his career and rose from second lieutenant to five-star general.

At twenty-six MacArthur was military aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, and his courageous leadership of the Rainbow Division in World War I made him a general. At the same time, his reluctance to heed any authority but his own gained him a reputation for arrogance and insubordination that was to shadow his entire career.

As Army Chief of Staff, he argued for military preparedness, and was accused of seeking personal power. When he worked to strengthen the Philippines and prepare them for independence, the immense popularity he gained among the people was viewed with suspicion. His defense of the islands against the Japanese and his matchless leadership of American forces to victory in the Pacific did not silence his detractors, who claimed he sought to turn the war into a personal melodrama.

As MacArthur helped guide defeated Japan to democracy, it was wryly remarked that he himself brooked no democratic questioning of his commands. When he was summoned from Japan to take command of the desperately beleaguered forces in Korea, the conflict between duty and pride brought his career to a dramatic conclusion. With brilliant generalship he saved his army from defeat, only to be removed from his post when he refused to obey the President himself.

While Douglas MacArthur's deeds were of heroic proportion, he is, and will continue to be, one of America's most controversial figures.

Front-Line General grew out of an account of General MacArthur's adventure in Mexico which Mr. Archer wrote for Man's Magazine, about which the General wrote to the author: "Your article was one of the most vital I have ever read. It captured completely the underlying motivation and spirit of the adventure." In Front-Line General, Mr. Archer has attempted to recapture the whole fascinating life of General MacArthur with the same fidelity and excitement.

From the book