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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.91092
EAN num: 9780814756997
ISBN number: 0814756999
Label: NYU Press
Manufacturer: NYU Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: December 01, 2005
Publishing house: NYU Press
Release Date: December 01, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 668900
Studio: NYU Press
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'Fine biography.'
—Washington Times
'Splendid biography.'
—Dallas Morning News
'In this day and age of warfare followed by nation-building, Wood's career may hold some lessons for today's generals.'
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
'This very servicable book deserves attention, especially by those contemplating the prospects of the current American empire.'
—London Review of Books
'Wood receives his due in a fine biography. . . . All sides of the general are presented.'
—Washington Times
'[McCallum's] research at the Library of Congress included studying thousands of Wood's letters and diary entries, as well as court records. The information sheds new light on several controversial issues, including Wood's role in establishing the Georgia Tech football program and the true story of the Republican Convention of 1920.'
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
'We can be grateful for Jack McCallum's dutiful biography, which gives us a reliable...chronicle of Wood's meteoric ascent and a detailed record of his imperial achievements.'
—Wall Street Journal
'Leonard Wood was one of the most fascinating figures during the age of the American empire at the turn of the 20th century. Physician, general, and colonial administrator, he was a man of great talents and striking flaws. Jack McCallum, himself a physician, has written a lively biography of Wood that shows how he moved from doctor to warrior, always trailing controversy behind him. At the end of this fascinating volume, readers will understand why Leonard Wood aroused such intense passions in Cuba, the Philippines and on the American political scene during the Progressive Era'
—Lewis L. Gould, Eugene C. Barker Centennial Professor Emeritus in American History, University of Texas at Austin
'With the skill of a surgeon, Jack McCallum has dissected the life of Leonard Wood-one of the most significant army officers and doctors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Leonard Wood reveals how this arrogant, intolerant, self-righteous, and autocratic army officer laid the foundations of American twentieth century nation building.'
—Gene A. Smith, author of Thomas ap Catesby Jones: Commodore of Manifest Destiny
One of the most fascinating but least remembered figures in modern American history, Major General Leonard Wood (1860-1927) was, with his close friend Theodore Roosevelt, an icon of U.S. imperialism as the nation evolved into a global power at the dawn of the twentieth century. The myriad of roles that Wood played in his extraordinary career offer a mirror image of the country's expansion from the urban Northeast to the western frontier to Latin America and the Far East. Boston surgeon, Indian fighter, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Medal of Honor winner, commander of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, Governor General of the Philippines, and presidential candidate, Wood was one of a select cadre of men that transformed the American military at the turn of the century, turning it into a modern fighting force and the nation into a world power.
Throughout his life, Wood tested the division between military and civilian power to its very limits. His 1920 presidential campaign and his conflicts with civilian politicians were harbingers of the struggles that Generals Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower would face as they moved from the battlefield to Washington following World War II.
Jack McCallum has mined Wood's extensive personal records—including diaries, correspondence, and photographs—to create a vivid portrait of a complex man and the legacy he left on U.S. imperialism. America's rapid conquest of Cuba and the Philippines and the subsequent political and economic reconstruction it imposed under Wood's military supervision in these regions have important parallels to current U.S. involvement in the Middle East, both in its successes and its failures.
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Rated by buyers 
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The name "Leonard Wood" appears in many places causing one to wonder who he was. Leonard Wood by Jack McCallum is a wonderful, interesting and informative book about a complex man who achieved great things despite significant flaws. The chapters on issues facing insurrection and establishment of self-sufficient governments in Cuba and in the Phillipines offer strong lessons for issues facing the United States foreign policy today. The impact of McCallums writing is detracted by the absence of any maps of the military campaigns or the areas where Wood governed. Given the extensive documentation and footnoting of this 355 page book, surely New York University could have spent a few more dollars to add pages with maps that would amplify McCallums wonderful analysis of Leonard Wood's life and accomplishments.
Rated by buyers 
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Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, and Architect of American Imperialism by Jack McCallum is slightly misnamed. General Wood was by no means THE architect of America's brief experiment with empire.
General Wood was in many ways an interesting example of how to run an occupying government. Balancing force with progressive policies, he left Cuba and the Philippines healthier, wealthier, and better educated then when we found them. In that sense, he epitomized a brand of colonialism that was both uniquely American and truly revolutionary.
Having grown up in northern Arkansas, it is challenging to say or write the name Leonard Wood without putting the word "Fort" in front of it. Thus, the installation in southern Missouri intended to honor the man has replaced him to those few who have even heard his name.
General Wood was the son of an unlicensed medical doctor. He was part of the middle class by prestige, but not necessarily by income. A physician himself and having met the requirements for his internship, General Wood had left his training hospital under a bit of a cloud and therefore needed a way to support himself. The army became that window of opportunity. Unable to secure a commission in the medical corps, he hired on as a contract surgeon.
Taking part in the last great campaign against the Indians, General Wood quickly distinguished himself as not only a surgeon but as a leader. His examples were not only the tough junior officers and non commissioned officers of the old west, but also Gen Crook and Gen Miles. From these two fathers, Gen Wood learns how to lead and, from Miles, how to thrive in the politically charged 19th century Army.
Leaving the old west with a commission as a Captain in the medical corps, he accompanies Gen Miles to Washington and builds relationships to the leading republicans.
When the Spanish-American War begins, General Wood becomes a Col in the volunteers leading the Rough Riders raised by his good friend Teddy Roosevelt. A combat promotion to Brigadier General soon follows. Shortly afterwards, General Wood earns his second star and becomes de facto ruler of Santiago and, later, all of Cuba.
It is at this point, the biography becomes useful. While somewhat protected by the weaknesses in his judgment by legislative mandates, General Wood begins to craft a policy of governing that the current policy makers would have been wise to follow in current day Iraq.
Not all of the lessons of this book are acceptable as those on military governance. General Wood is political, devious, and, at times, downright disloyal to his seniors. Yet, this perhaps only makes this a more realistic biography than other books that cover the same period.
Sadly, General Wood has largely been forgotten by most students of history. His career covered a phenomenal period of change. General Wood's experience was shaped by the last veterans of the Civil War and he was the elderly mentor for the generation that fought World War II after his death.
Rated by buyers -
Leonard Wood is forgotten today, but he was a formidable figure in his day and even came close to becoming President of the United States. He was an able administrator of both Cuba and the Philippines. One flaw in his administration was an authoritarian personality, who always did the right thing but tended not to listen to the people he was out to help.
Interestingly, his story has a great deal of relevance today. It is far more important to succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan because as Europe becomes Islamicized, as it will within our lifetimes, the new majority will need a democratic model on which to base their governance. If they look at the Talibans and Saddams of an unreformed Middle East, then Europe will not be a pleasant place to visit, let alone live. If we can establish a tradition of democracy in even one or two Muslim countries, then we can embrace a Muslim Europe. We weren't out to democratize either Cuba or the Philippines in 1900 and we need to synthesize General Wood's great achievements with a democratic approach. I saw that being done in Afghanistan and I'm sure that that is happening in Iraq.
This is a great story and a great book. It is badly in need of maps, however, and the author has a tendency, sometimes, of telling us rather than showing us the strengths and weaknesses of Leonard Wood. Nevertheless, it is an important book about a very contemporary subject.
Rated by buyers 
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For anyone who has read multiple volumes about Theodore Roosevelt, the name Leonard Wood has appeared many times. The more that I saw his name, the more I wanted to learn about the man but there was so little material available about him. Dr. McCallum has given us a well written and well researched book about one of this country's most visionary military leaders during an interesting period in our nation's history.
The drawback, if there is one , to reading history is that you often times see the "warts" that existed on or about the subject matter and Leonard Wood certainly had his share of warts. However General Wood, in many ways, was exactly what our nation needed at this period in its development, a bridge from the old school line of military thought to what served as a template to a more modern army.
Thanks Dr. McCallum. I needed this.
Rated by buyers -
"Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism" by Dr. Jack McCallum should be considered a must read for any military leader or anyone in the field of foreign relations. The book is an outstanding biography - well researched and written. It's real strength is found in the story of Wood during the Spanish-American War and his enlightened administration of Cuba after the war. Here the book really shines. Sometimes the book bogs down in it's story of U S Army administration and politics in the early 20th century but that topic is central to the story of Wood's unique career from Surgeon to Soldier to Colonial Administrator to top soldier as Chief of Staff. I purchased my book for two reasons: I wanted to know more about the history of the U S Army during the period of Wood's service and my tremendous interest in all topics related to Theodore Roosevelt. It is in the latter area that the book is somewhat of a disappointment. While there are plenty of references to TR, there is much less on the relationship between the two and TR as a friend and personal confidante than I had anticipated. That aside, I enthusiastically recommend this book for anyone in leadership in the military, the Department of State, military historians and in particular those interested in the U S Army between the Indian Wars and World War I.
George F. Franks, III
Franks Consulting Group
www.franksconsultinggroup.com
http://consultingandcoaching.blogspot.com
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