After a short career in advertising and sports broadcasting, he earned a Master of Arts degree in American history from the University of Missouri.
In 2000, he accepted a position as an assistant professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
[3] McManus co-presents the Second World War podcast ‘We have ways of making you talk USA’ alongside James Holland and Al Murray.
Some of McManus's works are composed of several personal stories of common footsoldiers on the battlefield, often facing insurmountable challenges, as demonstrated in Grunts and The Dead and Those About to Die.
[citation needed] His years of research and analysis concerning specific battles such as the Normandy landings has been called "excellent," and that his scenic descriptions are vivid.