Description
"In 2007, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili (1919-2011) penned an op-ed published in the New York Times calling for the United States to reverse its "Don't ask, don't tell" policy and support full recognition of LGBTAmericans in the military. He followed up with a similar editorial in a 2009 issue of the Washington Post. The policy was reversed July 22, 2011, the day before the General's death. Many Americans may have been startled to see this support from a high-ranking military figure, but Shalikashvili's friends and colleagues were not surprised. "Shali," as he was known, had spent his life battling prejudice and oppression. In The Boy on the Bridge, Andrew Marble writes the first biography of this remarkable warrior and diplomat. Not only was Shalikashvili the first foreign-born person to be appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he was the first draftee, one of only two enlisted men, and only Officer Candidate School graduate. He grew up in Germany during World War II, emigrated to the United States with his family in 1952, and settled in Peoria, Illinois. Marble explores Shalikashvili's unusual background and family history to discover how Shalikashvili the soldier mastered the art of command and how Shaliskashvili the man developed as a human being to become a consummate, empathetic diplomat and leader. He helped guide the US and Europe through the chaos of the break-up of the Soviet Union and worked with Russia during this period to secure "loose nukes." Heworked closely with fellow immigrant Madeleine Albright on The Partnership for Peace initiatives and NATO enlargement programs of the 1990s that allowed former Soviet satellites and republics to build ties with and eventually join NATO"--
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His life and career were the embodiment of the American dream. Born in Poland, John Shalikashvili (1936–2011) descended from aristocratic European families that served with distinction in both battle and government for centuries. After barely surviving the Warsaw Uprising, he and his family fled to Germany during World War II to escape advancing Soviet troops and emigrated to the United States in 1952. Shalikashvili was drafted into the army as a private in 1958 and rose steadily through the ranks, serving in every level of unit command from platoon to division. In 1993 Shalikashvili was tapped by President Bill Clinton to replace General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the first immigrant, first draftee, and first Officer Candidate School graduate to hold the position.This first-ever biography of Shalikashvili's riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches story reveals how his distinctive background helped him become one of the United States's greatest military leaders. He exhibited a unique and unconventional leadership style—employing expertise, humility, straightforwardness, and empathy—that he adroitly used to resolve or prevent destructive conflict. His distinctive leadership style greatly benefited the United States, Europe, and beyond: as when he led the rescue of 500,000 Kurdish refugees in the first Gulf War's aftermath; when he represented Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell in helping secure loose nukes in the former Soviet republics; as he joined forces with fellow immigrant Madeleine Albright on the Partnership for Peace initiative and NATO enlargement program in the 1990s; and in retirement, when he helped end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, thereby finally allowing gay servicemembers to serve openly without fear of dishonorable discharge.
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