Armed Progressive

`

Armed Progressive

General Leonard Wood

Jack C. Lane
With a new preface by the author

352 pages
13 images, 3 maps

Paperback

December 2009

978-0-8032-2658-6

$19.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

Gen. Leonard Wood’s meteoric career was no fluke. The ambitious Wood (1860–1927), serving as an army physician, strategically took on tasks and assignments that led him from the pursuit of Geronimo in the deserts of the Southwest (for which he won the Medal of Honor) to chief of staff of the U.S. Army and almost to the presidency of the United States. During his rise to high office, the darker side of Wood’s personality became legend. Able administrator and sincere patriot, Wood, together with friend Theodore Roosevelt, organized the famous “Rough Riders” during the Spanish-American War. Unfortunately, Wood possessed a consuming and obsessive ambition, as well as the willingness to advance his own interests over the ruin of others and in the face of political disapproval. Despite personal rivalries and feuds, Wood earned national prominence with his successes as a colonial administrator in Cuba and the Philippines, yet he was denied the two things he wanted most: an active role in the fighting of World War I and the presidency of the United States.
 
Armed Progressive, a critical study of Wood’s quest for power and his tremendous achievements, helps us to understand this pivotal figure who played such a dominant role at the turn of the century. Jack C. Lane provides historical insight and political assessment and captures the essence of this capable, ambitious, proud, bigoted, and self-righteous man.

Author Bio

Jack C. Lane is Alexander W. Weddell Professor Emeritus of American History at Rollins College.

Praise

“Lane’s well-written and precisely documented account is a useful contribution to the history of the early twentieth century”—Library Journal

“Lane has written the type of biography that is likely to be the final word on Wood for some time to come.”—Dennis S. Lavery, Journal of American History

"An important work for anyone interested in the U.S. Army from the Indian Wars through World War I."—A. A. Nofi, NYMAS Review

"Jack C. Lane's book is a well done study of Leonard Wood and how maybe too much ambition to get to the top can harm one's career."—Mark Hutchins, Denver Westerners Roundup

Table of Contents

Preface
Illustrations
Maps
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Duty on the Frontier
Chapter 2: A Decade of Post Life
Chapter 3: The Rough Rider
Chapter 4: Combat Commander
Chapter 5: Governor of Santiago de Cuba
Chapter 6 Governor of Santiago Province
Chapter 7: Military Governor of Cuba: Reform
Chapter 8: Military Governor of Cuba: Shaping the New Empire
Chapter 9: Governor of Moro Province
Chapter 10: Defending America's New Empire in the Far East: Commander of the Philippine Division
Chapter 11: Making of an Armed Progressive
Chapter 12: Chief of Staff: Struggle for Supremacy
Chapter 13: Chief of Staff: Struggle for Reform
Chapter 14: Apostle of Preparedness: The Struggle
Chapter 15: Apostle for Preparedness: A Pyrrhic Victory
Chapter 16: The General and the President
Chapter 17: The General and the Military Professionals
Chapter 18: Man on Horseback, American Style: The Issues
Chapter 19: Man on Horseback, American Style: The Campaign
Chapter 20: The Wood-Forbes Mission: Reassessing American Philippine Policy
Chapter 21: Governor-General of the Philippines: Redefining American Policy
Chapter 22: Governor-General of the Philippines: The Last Battle
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Also of Interest