West Point 1915: Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fell On
This book marks the hundredth anniversary of the 1915 graduating class of West Point, the “class the stars fell on,” so named because 59 of its 164 graduates attained the rank of brigadier general or higher, the most of any class in history. It seems clear that what fell on these men was World War II, since by that time they were deep in their army careers with long years of training and experience, which ended up serving the country exceedingly well. Omar Bradley suggests that his not going to France during WWI, far from ending his (or Eisenhower’s) career as he had feared, helped him to approach the demands of a mobile tank- and air-based war with an open mind, unsaddled with concepts of trench warfare. The Americans also had time to watch and learn from the British and Germans. Excellent (George C. Marshall) and cautionary (Douglas MacArthur) role models may have helped; Eisenhower’s affability and coalition building were undeniably crucial. Haskew’s research is exceptional; his skipping from one man’s story to another with only a paragraph break is a bit hard to track, but he’s done a good job of giving each man his due.
