Forward by Rick Atkinson
Published by University Press of Kentucky
2015
First Edition - First Printing
A very scarce title in any condition, this 2015 First Edition - First Printing is in Absolute Mint and Unread condition. The front and back covers of the book itself are in Perfect condition. The dust jacket, (NOT Price-clipped and still showing its original retail price $39.95) is in near Perfect condition. The dustjacket has been placed in a mylar protective covering for added protection. This copy is signed by the author on the title page. The binding is tight and square without spine lean. The pages are white, crisp and clean and there are no markings, bookplates, or other signs of prior ownership in this book.
Overall, this book is a grade collector's book. This book is very elusive in this superior condition, as only a limited number of them were ever published, so now is the time to act. Hopefully you can add this book to your collection and enjoy it in the years to come...
General Jacob L. "Jake" Devers (1897–1979) was one of only two officers―the other was Omar C. Bradley―to command an army group during the decisive campaigns of 1944–1945 that liberated Europe and ended the war with Nazi Germany. After the war, Devers led the Army Ground Forces in the United States and eventually retired in 1949 after forty years of service. Despite incredible successes on the battlefield, General George C. Marshall's "dependable man" remains one of the most underrated and overlooked figures of his generation.
In this definitive biography, James Scott Wheeler delivers a groundbreaking reassessment of the American commander whose contributions to victory in Europe are topped only by General Dwight D. Eisenhower's. Wheeler's exhaustively researched chronicle of Devers's life and career reveals a leader who demonstrated an extraordinary ability to cut through red tape and solve complex problems. Nevertheless, Eisenhower disliked Devers―a fact laid bare when he ordered Devers's Sixth Army Group to halt at the Rhine. After the war, Eisenhower's and Bradley's accounts of the generals' disagreements over strategy and tactics became received wisdom, to the detriment of Devers's reputation.
An essential contribution to twentieth-century history, Jacob L. Devers provides a fresh and nuanced interpretation of the senior command during World War II and offers a new perspective on a highly accomplished soldier.