The Partnership

As Ted Aldrich shows in fascinating, often gripping detail, America was supremely fortunate to have--in George Marshall and Henry Stimson--two extraordinary public servants who worked in close concert to help guide America to victory in World War II. Marshall was Army chief of staff while Stimson was secretary of war, and as Aldrich makes clear, they were men of unimpeachable integrity and an unusually strong sense of duty. If you're looking for an inspiring tale about heroes in our past, you could do no better than to start here.--Lawrence J. Haas, author of Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World If the American Century had two gods, they would be Henry Stimson and George Marshall. No two men did more to shape the basic international order of the 20th century than these two men. As Secretary of War and Secretary of State in three different administrations, Stimson was the original Wise Man, the statesman who was the central icon of the foreign policy establishment that created and presided over the system of free trade and security alliances that literally lifted the world from devastation to prosperity after World War II. At the Pentagon during World War II, an open door connected Stimson's office to that of General Marshall, the Organizer of Victory who later gave his name to the plan that rebuilt Europe. Ted Aldrich has written a wonderfully interesting, thoroughly compelling joint biography of Stimson and Marshall. He gets at the forces that shaped these men and made them so alike--their extraordinary self-discipline and drive to power that was at once wildly ambitious and yet personally humble. The contrast to the current day will pop out at readers. Aldrich writes with a confident, readable style that carries you along. Through these men we remember how America truly did become great. At the same time, Aldrich has a clear eye about their foibles and blind spots. Stimson and Marshall were Olympian figures, yet in Aldrich's capable hands, human and relatable.--Evan Thomas, bestselling author of Sea of Thunder, The War Lovers, and Being Nixon Ted Aldrich uses the fascinating lives of Henry Stimson and George C. Marshall, two founding fathers of the American foreign policy establishment, to reveal much about the American Century. Aldrich's double biography is gracefully written and insightful. The Partnership will appeal to any reader who savors an insider's account of the decision-making that led to victory by the Allies during World War II...an invaluable addition to the literature on the war.--Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography, is the author most recently of The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter. This is a long overdue book about how a Wall Street lawyer and an Army lifer teamed up to win World War II and set the gold standard for civilian oversight of the military. With new and penetrating insights, Ted Aldrich examines the collaborative relationship between Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, individuals of matchless integrity and strength of character. Working together, always with an open door between adjoining offices, their achievements provide lessons in ethical leadership, bipartisanship, and candor that are so badly needed today.--David L. Roll, author of George Marshall: Defender of the Republic and The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler A joint biography of Stimson and Marshall, two pillars of the American Century, is a valuable addition to history.--Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of Einstein, Steve Jobs, and The Code Breaker