Ricks is always a good read. I read his book on the "Generals" many years ago. He adores Marshall but Marshall has his faults, he scapegoated the Admiral and General in charge of Pearl Harbor during the attack when these general officers tried several times to fortify the defenses by asking Washington for more resources in vain. In fact, Washington (including Marshall and Roosevelt) kept Pearl Harbor commanders from the knowledge that they had broken the Japanese diplomatic code. They told McArthur and yet McArthur failed to properly prepare the Philippine's defense and yet he wasn't canned because he was a friend of the President.