Book Review: BRUTE by Robert Coram
Criticism of General William Westmoreland is common enough, and he comes in for his share of it in BRUTE, as are negative assessments of General Douglas MacArthur. That breaks little new ground as most historians see both men as flawed military leaders, albeit in different ways. What is highly unusual is the willingness of Robert Coram as a historian to boldly level audacious charges of undermining civilian control of the military against hallowed figures of the US Army such as General George Marshall, that Marshall and other senior generals of the Army conspired during the postwar creation of the Department of Defense to usurp power over the armed forces properly belonging to Congress and to concentrate it in the hands of a Prussian-style “general staff”; that General Dwight Eisenhower attempted to lie to Congress about his role in the JCS 1478 papers. Unlike in Boyd, where Coram found some key high-ranking Air Force generals who acted as protectors of Colonel John Boyd against a hostile hierarchy, in BRUTE Coram emerges as a squared away partisan for Marines in their battle with “Big Army”.
Robert Coram has written a fast-moving, often sympathetic, at times troubling portrait of Victor “Brute” Krulak, one of the legendary Marine generals who never made Commandant because he told his Commander-in-Chief unwelcome truths about the president’s war and suffered the natural consequences.
Strongly recommended.
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MMaineiac:
March 28th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Nice review – it’s $15 on kindle, I think I am going to give it a try.
BTW – I was a little taken aback to see this blog post title:
Human Complexity: The Strategic Game of ? and ?
at Rick Booksaber – it doesn’t disappoint.
J. Scott:
March 28th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
On the issue of Krulak’s darker side, I thought Coram did a good job of explaining himself in the afterward: "Some aspects of Brute Krulak’s early years are disturbing. I elected to take an explanatory stance toward those years. Some will say I should have replaced the frail reed of sympathy with the righteous sword of judgement. But my sins as a young man were scarlet, and they were many. I do not consider those green actions the defining moments of my life and if I am to be measured, let it be by the deeds of my later years. Here I afforded Brute Krulak what I would ask for myself." As I said in my Amazon review, it would be refreshing if more biographers took/appreciated this approach. Excellent book, strongest recommendation!
historyguy99:
March 28th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Top notch review that coincided with my own impression of this fine biography that sheds light on a figure that played an important role in shaping the Marine Corps both during and after World War II. Coram’s courage to reveal the real man, instead of a varnished statue of Krulak’s brilliance makes for a most rewarding read.
Highly recommended.
zen:
March 28th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Gracias, gents!
.
I agree that Coram did a nice job here, evenhanded with Krulak, advocate with the USMC. An interesting juxtaposition for the reader
PurpleSlog:
March 29th, 2011 at 2:28 am
I go tit for my veteran Marine Dad for Christmas. He finished it in about a week. I finished it a week later. Excellent book. Excellent summary by Zen.