Book description
A valued adviser and trusted insider in the highest echelon of U. S.
military and political leaders, General Walter Bedell Smith began his
public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he
joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an
opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an
essential role in forming the offices of the Combined and Joint Chiefs
of Staff; and after his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D.
Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning and
orchestrating the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe.
Among his many duties, Smith negotiated and signed the surrenders of the
Italian and German armed forces on May 7, 1945. Smith's postwar career
included service as the U. S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, director
of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. Despite
his contributions to twentieth-century American military and diplomatic
history, the life and work of Smith have largely gone unappreciated. In
Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell
offers the first full-length biography of the general, including
insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower.
Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on
Eisenhower as supreme commander and the campaigns in North Africa,
Italy, and Europe. Beetle is the fascinating history of a soldier,
diplomat, and intelligence chief who played a central role in many
decisions that altered mid-twentieth-century American history. D. K.
R. Crosswell is adjunct professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of
International Studies, is the author of The Chief of Staff: The Military
Career of General Walter Bedell Smith.
