Review by Booklist Review
George S. Patton, aka Old Blood and Guts, inaugurates Palgrave's Great Generals series, with Grant, Eisenhower, and World War II bombardier Curtis LeMay to follow. Axelrod's profile relays one truth about Patton: there is no moderate opinion about him. Vainglorious and courageous, militarily intelligent but politically obtuse, outwardly confident but wracked with self-doubt, Patton was one of those warriors a democracy needs in a crisis but finds useless in peace. Even in the army, Patton stood out for his fascination with military sumptuary and protocol: his polished helmet, pearl-handled revolvers, and profanity were both the act and the essence of the man, just as impersonated for the mass audience by actor George C. Scott. Axelrod efficiently backgrounds the youthful and midlife arc of Patton's determination to be a conspicuous leader or die in the attempt, illustrating the latter with Patton's valor in World War I. This able abstract may whet readers' appetites for more full-bodied biographies by Carlo d'Este and Stanley Hirshson. --Gilbert Taylor Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Gen. George Patton, "a great and flawed figure" who still elicits strong feelings, makes an excellent choice for the initial volume in Palgrave's Great Generals series. Axelrod, a prolific business writer and historian (Patton on Leadership; Elizabeth I, CEO), delivers a solid if brief introduction to Patton's life and career. Seeking a "balanced appreciation" of Patton, Axelrod focuses on the contradictions that make the general such a controversial figure. A tactical genius who was instrumental in pioneering the concepts of modern maneuver and combined arms warfare, Patton often struggled to control his own personal demons and emotions. Thus, the man who conquered Sicily and turned "a stunning catastrophe" into an equally stunning victory at the Battle of the Bulge once set off a media storm-and was sidelined by General Eisenhower for 11 months-after he assaulted two soldiers suffering from battle fatigue. Restless in peace, the man who Eisenhower observed was "born to be a soldier," was killed in an automobile accident in occupied Germany in 1946. Axelrod has captured Patton's checkered legacy in a balanced biography suitable for anyone looking for a concise introduction to the commander German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt pronounced the Allies' best. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
First in Gen. Wesley K. Clark's "Great General" series; from the author of Patton on Leadership and other books on U.S. and military history. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
George Patton revolutionizes warfare while struggling with his inner demons during times of peace. Axelrod (Patton on Leadership, 2001, etc.) kicks off editor General Wesley Clark's "Great Generals Series" with a compact but insightful volume on one of the most controversial military leaders in American history, a man who, in his own mind, was born and bred to be a warrior. Descended from a long line of military men on his father's side, Patton decided at a young age to make war his business. Accolades and controversy followed him in equal measure from the moment he arrived at West Point in 1904. For every brilliant tactical maneuver he conceived and executed, he managed to alienate those around him, whether by cheating on his wife, offending his fellow officers or being too hard on his men. It was Patton's shocking abuse of a shell-shocked private--and proclivity for putting his foot in his mouth--that sidelined him for nearly a year during World War II, a period of time during which Patton's lightning strikes might have inflicted heavy damage and, perhaps, shortened the war. Patton was a walking contradiction: a pious man who cursed like a sailor, a man who knew peace through war and warred with himself in times of peace and a man who projected confidence while enduring excruciating bouts of self-doubt. For the most part, Axelrod holds nothing back in painting the portrait of a man who was something of anathema to a democratic society leery of having a large standing army: a professional warrior whose sole goal in life was to be in the thick of battle and emerge covered in glory. At times, Axelrod stretches in trying to justify some of Patton's more glaring faults, but this can perhaps be attributed to the nature of the series. Still, this is a concise yet in-depth look at a fascinating man whose myth, in many ways, outshines the facts. Like Patton at his best: polished, precise and persuasive. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
