Military historian Mitchell Yockelson recounts the critical time in 1918 when the U.S. military proved itself to be more than worthy opponents to the Germans, and General Pershing a worldwide hero.

Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I is told from the perspective of Pershing and his replacement, General Liggett, and featuring some of our greatest personalities of the 20th century—MacArthur, Patton, Truman, George C. Marshall—Yockelson’s masterful telling is a critical look at how an untested group of American soldiers, and one exemplary leader, helped bring WWI to a close.

This program is part of World War I and America, a two-year national initiative of The Library of America presented in partnership with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and other organizations, with generous support from The National Endowment for the Humanities.