General Walter Bedell Smith's (1895-1961) service to his country spanned more than forty years, three major American wars, and the administrations of eight presidents. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell recounts the life and achievements of this fascinating American soldier and diplomat who began his career in 1911 as a sixteen-year-old private in the Indiana National Guard and retired as a four-star general. Dubbed "the American Bulldog" by Winston Churchill, the formidable Smith emerged as both a principal architect of the joint and combined staff structures and a conspicuous actor in the formulation of Allied grand strategy in the critical first months ,of the Anglo-American coalition of World War II. While serving as Eisenhower's chief of staff, he personally negotiated and signed the surrenders of Italy in 1943 and Germany in 1945. Throughout his long service, Smith's contributions were vital to U.S. diplomatic and military efforts. Beetle meticulously chronicles the life of a soldier who became a trusted insider at the highest echelon of U.S. leadership, participating in some of the most important decisions in twentieth-century American history. Book jacket.