The Mighty Endeavor—American Armed Forces in the European Theater in World War II

The Mighty Endeavor—AmericanArmed Forces in the EuropeanTheater in World War II By Charles B. MacDonald Oxford, $12.50 The great accomplishment of this book is that it brings within the covers of a single volume a clear, understandable and competent account of the American contribution to decisive Allied victory in Europe in World War II. It answers the basic questions—who? where? when? what? and above all, why?—with admirable precision and in due relation to each other. The author maintains the essential “big picture” treatment, while always able to highlight a vital detail with a verbal magnifier that brings into perspective the relation of the main event to an incident at the patrol level. He is especially conscious of the overriding importance of time in the execution of military plans. Your reviewer’s sympathetic reaction to this quality in the book may well be due to the fact that he spent a good part of World War I as commander of a rifle company of infantry, which was Mr. MacDonald’s job in World War II. It is the most rewarding and, at the same time, the most demanding assignment any soldier can hope for.

Our author has done exhaustive research in preparing his manuscript, for which he has had exceptional oppor

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George Fielding Eliot

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The Mighty Endeavor—AmericanArmed Forces in the EuropeanTheater in World War II By Charles B. MacDonald Oxford, $12.50 The great accomplishment of this book is that it brings within the covers of a single volume a clear, understandable and competent account of the American contribution to decisive Allied victory in Europe in World War II. It answers the basic questions—who? where? when? what? and above all, why?—with admirable precision and in due relation to each other. The author maintains the essential “big picture” treatment, while always able to highlight a vital detail with a verbal magnifier that brings into perspective the relation of the main event to an incident at the patrol level. He is especially conscious of the overriding importance of time in the execution of military plans. Your reviewer’s sympathetic reaction to this quality in the book may well be due to the fact that he spent a good part of World War I as commander of a rifle company of infantry, which was Mr. MacDonald’s job in World War II. It is the most rewarding and, at the same time, the most demanding assignment any soldier can hope for.

Our author has done exhaustive research in preparing his manuscript, for which he has had exceptional oppor