American Caesar

American Caesar
Author William Manchester
Country United States
Language English
Subject Biography
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
September 30, 1978
Pages 793
ISBN 0-09-136510-4

American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964 is a 1978 biography of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur by American historian William Manchester.

Manchester paints a sympathetic but balanced portrait of MacArthur, praising the general for his military genius, administrative skill, and personal bravery, while criticizing his vanity, paranoia, and tendency toward insubordination. As the title suggests, Manchester's central thesis is that MacArthur was an analogue of Julius Caesar, a proposition he supports by noting their great intellect, brilliant strategic generalship, political ambition, magnanimity as conquerors, and shared tragic flaw of hubris.

It was made into a four-part documentary series in 1983 hosted by John Huston.

  • WW2DB: Book review on American Caesar
  • Foreign Affairs review by Gaddis Smith
  • Wiltz, John Edward (Oct 1979). "William Manchester's American Caesar: Some Observations". Military Affairs. 43 (3). doi:10.2307/1986876. JSTOR 1986876.
  • Commentary Magazine review
  • American Caesar on IMDb


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