The Riddle of Macarthur
Potpourri
by
Harper, $2.75.
Mr. Gunther doesn’t come near to resolving the set of paradoxes which constitute “the riddle of MacArthur,” but as usual he has turned in a splendidly timed, lively, and uncommonly informative report. In this case, moreover, it seems an exceptionally clear-sighted one. Gunther shows no disposition to soft-pedal MacArthur’s familiar shortcoming — at one point he says that the General “goes so far as to think of himself and the Pope as the two leading representatives of Christianity” — but MacArthur’s abilities and achievements as proconsul are sharply brought into focus. He has done a remarkable job, on the whole, Gunther concludes, of imposing democracy on Japan — “like a dictator.”