Patton and Rommel : men of war in the twentieth century /

A distinguished American scholar of World War II gives us an outstanding parallel biography of Erwin Rommel and George Patton, two of the most colorful and accomplished WWII leaders. Men with very different backgrounds--Patton's was an upper-crust family with a forebear who had a distinguished Confederate army record; the Rommels were middle-class Swabians, and Erwin's father saw the army as an appropriate career and a means of moving up the imperial German social ladder--both achieved distinction as mobile-war experts in WWII. Showalter's research has been thorough, which is saying something since so much has been written about both men that new biographers must deal with quite an accretion of rumors, legends, and speculation about them. Showalter writes with verve and a sense of humor, so that Clio and Thalia work in harmony in his book, something that is rare, bordering on miraculous. Military fans and general readers alike should be pleased. --Frieda Murray Copyright 2005 Booklist

One of the most distinguished American historians of WWII returns with an outstanding parallel biography of George Patton and Erwin Rommel. The research is thorough, the quality of the writing superb. The two men came from substantially different backgroundsAPatton from an upper-class family with a distinguished record in the Confederate Army, Rommel from staunchly middle-class Wurttemburgers barely eligible to send their son into the Kaiser's army. Both saw combat in WWI (Rommel far more than Patton), spent a frustrating interwar period (in which Rommel fared better than Patton) and rose to high distinction as experts in mobile warfare in WWII. Today, each is more admired in the other's country, and the author argues persuasively that they had different ambitions in their pursuit of mobility: Patton lived a cavalryman's image of antique heroism a century out-of-date, while Rommel was the consummate technical expert (except in logistics). They certainly rank together as two of the most written-about, and two of the most accomplished, military commanders of the century, and Showalter, the former head of the Society for Military History, ranks as a scholar who has done them justice, making two complex men and a vast panorama of military history remarkably accessible for experts and lay readers alike. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved