“In telling his story for the first time, Andrew Marble masterfully weaves together how a man whose family fled war-torn Europe helped shape American foreign policy for decades and lived out the values of conscience and country.
This isn’t just a must read for military buffs, it’s a source of inspiration for every American and anyone who aspires to be one.”
- U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry
"...an astonishingly readable biography of one of the most remarkable leaders in American military history.”
- Claudia Dreifus
Columbia University Professor
New York Times Journalist
"By holding up an insightful mirror to this former WWII refugee’s little-known but captivating immigrant success story, biographer Andrew Marble has allowed the bright side of our country to now shine even more widely."
- U.S. Congressman
Lee Hamilton
"Boy on the Bridge, a lively and masterful character study of my former boss and hero, CJCS Gen. John Shalikashvili, offers up a thought-provoking picture of how nature and nurture combined in dramatic ways to create that rarity: a leader and human being who was both genuinely selfless and supremely effective."
- Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Collins, PhD
Former CJCS Speechwriter and National Defense University Professor
"Andrew Marble's historical tour de force of a penniless European refugee who became the highest-ranking general officer in the US military is far more than a biography of one man. Rather, it's the story of a family of strong-willed people steeped in aristocratic traditions working to survive, as a unit, during one of the most turbulent times in world history.
A story of good fortune, of misfortune, of human flaws, of opportunities taken as well as missed, and how all those factors combined to influence the development of one little boy and the extraordinary man he would become."
- Col. (Ret.) Jon C. Schreyach
Former DivArty Operations Officer and Commander 6th Bn/14th FA, 1st Armored Division
“In telling his story for the first time, Andrew Marble masterfully weaves together how a man whose family fled war-torn Europe helped shape American foreign policy for decades and lived out the values of conscience and country.
This isn’t just a must read for military buffs, it’s a source of inspiration for every American and anyone who aspires to be one.”
- U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry
"...an astonishingly readable biography of one of the most remarkable leaders in American military history.”
- Claudia Dreifus
Columbia University Professor
New York Times Journalist
"By holding up an insightful mirror to this former WWII refugee’s little-known but captivating immigrant success story, biographer Andrew Marble has allowed the bright side of our country to now shine even more widely."
- U.S. Congressman
Lee Hamilton
"It was so wonderful to see the General 'Shali' I worked for come alive in these pages! What a great American he was, and what a fine telling of his American story this book is. Read it for inspiration, and remember that when we talk about immigrants, we are talking about the John Shalikashvilis of this world."
- Kori Schake, PhD
Deputy Director-General, International Institute for Strategic Studies
"Boy on the Bridge, a lively and masterful character study of my former boss and hero, CJCS Gen. John Shalikashvili, offers up a thought-provoking picture of how nature and nurture combined in dramatic ways to create that rarity: a leader and human being who was both genuinely selfless and supremely effective."
- Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Collins, PhD
Former CJCS Speechwriter and
National Defense University Professor
"Andrew Marble's historical tour de force of a penniless European refugee who became the highest-ranking general officer in the US military is far more than a biography of one man. Rather, it's the story of a family of strong-willed people steeped in aristocratic traditions working to survive, as a unit, during one of the most turbulent times in world history.
A story of good fortune, of misfortune, of human flaws, of opportunities taken as well as missed, and how all those factors combined to influence the development of one little boy and the extraordinary man he would become."
- Col. (Ret.) Jon C. Schreyach
Former DivArty Operations Officer and
Commander 6th Bn/14th FA, 1st Armored Division
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Andrew showcasing manifest from S.S. America voyage that brought Albright to the US in 1948. Shalikashvili arrived on that same ship when he emigrated from Europe in 1952. (August 2011)
- MEDIA APPEARANCES -
"Using evocative storytelling, Boy on the Bridge offers us a long-overdue look at my long-time friend, fellow immigrant, and inspirational American soldier-statesman, John Shalikashvili.
Shali's dramatic Old World roots helped him forge a post-Cold War environment in which European and Central Asian regions, long embroiled in conflict, achieved stability and eventual peace. He was a master in determining what needs to be done and what is doable."
- Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Nicholas Krawciw
US Army
*Featured*
Twin "Boy on the Bridge" Book Parties Washington DC
As a small boy witnessing brutal war; as a European teenager suddenly having to adapt to high school in the American mid-west; as an officer candidate thrown into the crucible of Officer Candidate School; as a young husband and father forced to deal with the deaths of both his wife and child; and, later, as a senior officer and nominee for his last and most prestigious posting, having to face the very public revelations of his father's service in Hitler's infamous Waffen SS as well as serious questions about his own knowledge of that part of the story.
Written in lively narrative, Boy on the Bridge presents Shalikashvili first and foremost as a human being reacting to, and being shaped by, the evironment and events around him:
- AWARDS -
*Featured* Andrew Marble's essay in The Hill
"Merit-based immigration? Not if you consider the career of Gen. John Shalikashvili"
by ANDREW MARBLE, PhD
THE STORY OF JOHN SHALIKASHVILI'S AMERICAN SUCCESS
AVAILABLE NOW