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An enthralling biography of the tireless WWII infantry leader who became popularly known as ‘the G.I.’s General.’ Perfect for enthusiasts of the works of Carlo D’Este, Jean Edward Smith and Craig L. Symonds. At the age of fifty Bradley was a career officer who had never seen a day of action on the battlefield. Yet, by the end of the war, he had led American soldiers through some of the bloodiest fighting of World War Two—the final defeat of the Germans’ Afrika Korps, the invasion of Sicily, and the historic Normandy invasion, before leading the advance across the Rhine. Despite being such an instrumental leader of World War Two he was a modest man, professing only to do the best he could for his calling and his country. How did this quiet and unassuming teacher from West Point rise to become the commander of the Twelfth United States Army Group, which ultimately comprised forty-three divisions and over one million troops, the largest American force ever united under one man’s command? And how did he come to be known as ‘the G.I.’s General’? Charles Whiting’s enthralling overview of Bradley and his career uncovers what he was like as a person, providing insight into his actions and leadership during the course of World War Two, before discussing his post-war career as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the course of the Korean War. ‘Military hero, courageous in battle, and gentle in spirit, friend of the common soldier, General of the Army, first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he embodies the best of the American military tradition with dignity, humanity, and honor.’ President Gerald Ford Bradley should be essential reading for anyone interested by this influential but often overlooked general of the Second World War.
Author
Charles Whiting was a British writer and military historian and with some 350 books of fiction and non-fiction to his credit, under his own name and a variety of pseudonyms including Ian Harding, Duncan Harding, K.N. Kostov, John Kerrigan, Klaus Konrad, and Leo Kessler. Born in the Bootham area of York, England, he was a pupil at the prestigious Nunthorpe Grammar School, leaving at the age of 16 to join the British Army by lying about his age. Keen to be in on the wartime action, Whiting was attached to the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment and by the age of 18 saw duty as a sergeant in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in the latter stages of World War II. While still a soldier, he observed conflicts between the highest-ranking British and American generals which he would write about extensively in later years. After the war, he stayed on in Germany completing his A-levels via correspondence course and teaching English before being enrolled at Leeds University reading History and German Language. As an undergraduate he was afforded opportunities for study at several European universities and, after gaining his degree, would go on to become an assistant professor of history. Elsewhere, Whiting held a variety of jobs which included working as a translator for a German chemical factory and spells as a publicist, a correspondent for The Times and feature writer for such diverse magazines as International Review of Linguistics, Soldier and Playboy. His first novel was written while still an undergraduate, was published in 1954 and by 1958 had been followed by three wartime thrillers. Between 1960 and 2007 Charles went on to write over 350 titles, including 70 non-fiction titles covering varied topics from the Nazi intelligence service to British Regiments during World War II. One of his publishers, Easingwold-based Rupert Smith of GH Smith & Son said he was a quiet man and prolific writer. "He's one of a band of forgotten authors because he sold millions of copies and still, up to his death was doing publishing deals.He was the kind of man who was very self-effacing, one of Britain's forgotten authors, still working at 80 years of age, with his nose down and kicking out books." Charles Henry Whiting, author and military historian died on July 24 2007, leaving his wife and son.
