Product Description

General George S. Patton and General Erwin Rommel. They served their countries through two World Wars. Their temperaments, both on and off the battlefield, couldn't be further apart from each other-but their approaches to modern warfare were very similar.

Written by a prominent military historian, Patton and Rommel takes a provocative look at both figures, intertwining the stories of the paths they took and the decisions they made during the course of the Second World War-and compares the lives and careers of two men whose military tactics changed the course of history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #286547 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425206638
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
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 backgrounds—Patton 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had different ambitions in their pursuit of mobility: Patton lived a cavalryman's image of antique heroism a century out-of-date, while Rommel was the consummate technical expert (except in logistics).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.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
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 © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Dennis Showalter is a professor of history at Colorado College, visiting professor and guest lecturer at West Point, and former president of the Society for Military History. In addition to numerous articles and works on various subjects in military history, he contributed to Robert Cowley's bestselling essay collection, What If?.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Subjects Blemished By Operational Mediocrity
Content (5 Stars) - Showalter's parallel biography captures the brilliance and complexity of two controversial military leaders. Of particular interest are the author's accounts of both men's upbringing; Rommel's experiences and heroism during the First World War; context to and ellaboration on the "slapping incidents" in Sicily; and balance to both men's outspokenness, especially later in WWII. The book does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting Rommel and Patton's personal lives and command philosophies, tendencies, treatment of subordinates, etc. while weaving broader themes and events. Tangents, where found, are drawn together in failry concise conclusions. The author knows his subject. The style is conversational and authoritative. Descriptions of equipment, topography, tactical situations, timelines, maneuvers, and unit organization are informative but not heavy.

Execution (0 Stars) - The book, however, suffers by the absence of maps, diagrams and, to a lesser extent, pictures. There are none. This shortcoming obscures full understanding and appreciation of the challenges and accomplishments of the principals as well as the author's own perspective. Publishers Weekly says the "research is thorough, the quality of the writing superb." Booklist cites, "Showalter's research has been thorough..." The research may be there, but is not documented. There are two (2) footnotes in nearly 450 pages. There is no bibliography. No subtle nuances or diving into the primary sources here. As such, the work lacks a scholarly polish. The writing suffers from occasional gaffs in style and deplorable execution. Several climatic passages conclude with a German, French or Latin idiom, or an esoteric phrase, that obscures clear meaning (one is often left asking, "Huh?"). Finally, Dr. Showalter fails to acknowledge any editorial assistance, regrettably for good reason. Ubiquitous spelling and grammatical errors break the flow of an otherwise enthralling work. I found myself re-reading sentences for meaning or guessing what word was really intended rather than the one just read. This must embarrass "a distinguished American scholar..." not to mention his publisher, college and professional associates.

Atrocious editing and the absence of maps aside, I recommend the book as a fine, concise biography of Patton and Rommel, suitable for the military novice or general interest reader.

Very Good Book
I read this book last night and I think that this is a well-researched book about two of the Second World War's famous commanders, George Patton and Erwin Rommel. I really like the fact that the book explores thier similarities and their diffrences in personality, command style, and circumstances in which they found themselves under.

The one weakness that the book has is that I couldn't use the bibliography all that much in looking up instances and I found myself somewhat frustrated.

Despite this flaw, I think that this is a very good book about Patton and Rommel which should be read.

A puzzling dual biography that roams from its objective
Showalter is to be commended first for attempting to write a history that he claims as "reader-friendly, by eschewing the academic apparatus that so often gets in the way of the story." On the other hand, to anyone with a bit of knowledge of the era and the personalities, Showalter may have a greater desire to obscure the origin of much of his work. Large parts of Showalter's history are literal quotes of earlier works. He does provide proper attribution once or twice, but for the most part the works he borrows from are unattributed.

His declared goal is to depict "two complex personalities in the contexts of their military cultures and the countries that sustained them. Focusing on the generals, it compares the U.S. Army and the Wehrmacht as military instruments, and American and German ways of war." Showalter never acheives this objective.

Instead he has written summary biographies of Patton and Rommel, occasionally inserting his own opinions of what made each man tick. There is nothing new in his observations, nothing that hasn't been previously opined.

Showalter writes in a disconcertingly colloquial way. Happily there is little of the academic style, which is a plus. But occasionally he throws in a little-used archaic word or, worse, slings jargon that many will not be familiar. He particularly uses a tired baseball cliche that I haven't heard in several decades.

The editing and proofreading are amazingly poor. Take this sentence that appears on page 409: "The other was in Paris, where another more group of officers . . ." Yeah, "another more." Huh?

There are no maps or photographs in the book. Military history without even simple diagrams? It doesn't work.

Ultimately this history doesn't really illuminate either Patton or Rommel beyond what is available elsewhere in more vivid detail. As to providing a comparison between the two men, it never even begins the task. Neither general could be said to embody the warrior's ethos of the age. Both men were unique and had strong personalties and favored what were considered unorthodox ways. Showalter could have done a much better job of examining how the men's individual idiosyncracies played out, but it still would not have fulfilled his original objective.

Overall, I can't recommend this history to the serious student of military history. It is, as I noted above, dully repetitious of earlier works. It brings no revelatory insights to bear on either general or on warmaking in general. Except for the awful editing and proofreading and the occasional lapses of the author into slang and archaic language, it is readable, but it is not overly interesting.

Jerry