George Marshall cover art

George Marshall

Defender of the Republic

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

George Marshall

By: David L. Roll
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

 The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall—America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington—whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century.

“I’ve read several biographies of Marshall, but I think [David] Roll’s may be the best of the bunch.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review • “Powerful.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Enthralling.”—Andrew Roberts • “Important.”—William I. Hitchcock • “Majestic.”—Susan Page • “Engrossing.”—Andrew J. Bacevich • “Judicious.”—Walter Isaacson • “Definitive.”—Kirkus

Winston Churchill called him World War II's "organizer of victory." Harry Truman said he was "the greatest military man that this country ever produced." Today, in our era of failed leadership, few lives are more worthy of renewed examination than Marshall and his fifty years of loyal service to the defense of his nation and its values.

Even as a young officer he was heralded as a genius, a reputation that grew when in WWI he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another that led to the armistice. Between the wars he helped modernize combat training, and re-staffed the U.S. Army's officer corps with the men who would lead in the next decades. But as WWII loomed, it was the role of army chief of staff in which Marshall's intellect and backbone were put to the test, when his blind commitment to duty would run up against the realities of Washington politics. Long seen as a stoic, almost statuesque figure, he emerges in these pages as a man both remarkable and deeply human, thanks to newly discovered sources.

Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts—two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War—Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower. The result is a defining account of one of our most consequential leaders. Americas Military Military & War United States World War II War Imperialism Imperial Japan Winston Churchill US Army Franklin D Roosevelt Cold War Russia Self-Determination Soviet Union Submarine Middle East

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Metternich cover art
The Trials of Harry S. Truman cover art
Dwight D. Eisenhower cover art
American Ulysses cover art
Kissinger cover art
Stalin's War cover art
Truman cover art
The Age of Eisenhower cover art
Natasha's Dance cover art
Watergate cover art
The Last Founding Father cover art
The Prince cover art
Donovan cover art
The Hopkins Touch cover art
How Ike Led cover art
Into the Bright Sunshine cover art
All stars
Most relevant
An excellent book, excellently read. An outstanding biography of a major twentieth century figure, and a first class listen from start to finish.

Simply outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was wary of purchasing this book because I was afraid that it would lapse into the type of cringeworthy hagiography that mars most of the biographies of another famous WW2 US military leader, Douglas MacArthur. I need not have worried. Roll gives us an objective, unbiased account of the life of a key figure in twentieth-century history. Lack of bias does not preclude empathy and Roll’s empathy for his subject ensures that the biography does not become a dry chronological account of Marshall’s life. Roll’s insight and analysis enable the reader to gain a deep understanding of Marshall’s personality and Marshall's role in some of the key events of the last century. This will surely become the definitive biography of George Marshall for students of twentieth-century history.

Mark Bramhall’s narration is excellent.

A first-rate biography

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This special book on a special American ends with this line, spoken of General of the Army George Marshall, Let us pray in these dark times that these words remind us of our better angels.

If you want to test a man’s character, give him power

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Though it is a through book, telling of fact after another within timelines of Marshall's Life, it fails totally in explaining or diving deeper into his character, his managerial strategies and what drove this important man. Instead we get the usual facts - "he did this...then that..etc" most of which any reader can get from many other historical books. Very disappointing.

Disappointing - very 1 dimensional !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.