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The Fourth Star

Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army

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The Fourth Star

Written by: David Cloud, Greg Jaffe
Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
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About this listen

 They were four exceptional soldiers, a new generation asked to save an army that had been hollowed out after Vietnam. They survived the military's winnowing to reach its top echelon. They became the Army's most influential generals in the crucible of Iraq.

Collectively, their lives tell the story of the Army over the last four decades and illuminate the path it must travel to protect the nation over the next century.

In The Fourth Star, you'll follow:

  • Gen. John Abizaid, one of the Army's most brilliant minds. Fluent in Arabic, he forged an unconventional path in the military to make himself an expert on the Middle East, but this unique background made him skeptical of the war he found himself leading.
  • Gen. George Casey Jr., the son of the highest-ranking general to be killed in the Vietnam War. Casey had grown up in the Army and won praise for his common touch and skill as a soldier. He was determined not to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam but would take much of the blame as Iraq collapsed around him.
  • Gen. Peter Chiarelli, an emotional, take-charge leader who, more than any other senior officer, felt the sting of the Army's failures in Iraq. He drove his soldiers, the chain of command, and the U.S. government to rethink the occupation plans - yet rarely achieved the results he sought.
  • Gen. David Petraeus, a driven soldier-scholar. Determined to reach the Army's summit almost since the day he entered West Point, he sometimes alienated peers with his ambition and competitiveness. When he finally got his chance in Iraq, he - more than anyone - changed the Army's conception of what was possible.

    The Fourth Star ranges far beyond today's battlefields, evoking the Army's tumultuous history since Vietnam through these four captivating lives and ultimately revealing a fascinating irony: In an institution that prizes obedience, the most effective warriors are often those who dare to question.

    • ©2009 Greg Jaffe and David Cloud (P)2009 Random House     Military & War Wars & Conflicts Military War Solider US Army
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    What the critics say

    "A sparkling account of today's U.S. Army - a work of art that offers novelistic details but also carries the impact of well-reported fact. I learned something on nearly every page, and much of it astonished me." (Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times best-selling author of Fiasco)

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