PATTON: A Study in Command

by Herbert Essame ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1974

Essame, a former British commander and author of The Battle for Europe 1918 and The Battle for Germany (both 1972), is an unabashed Patton worshipper, considers him ""the most able leader of armoured forces the Allies ever produced in World War II,"" and adds the startling thought that had Eisenhower the foresight to ignore Patton's bad press and political naivete and had he given him a top command, the war might have ended in 1944. Whether this is true or not, the book is an incisive examination of the campaigns in Africa and northern Europe. There's very little personal Patton material here, other than a hurried introduction bringing him from West Point to the war and a short epilogue describing the fatal jeep accident. The majority of the book concentrates on battle description, in such minute detail that it bogs down like a Sherman tank in the muddy terrain before Bastogne -- the sort of material, though, that will undoubtedly delight other old soldiers and collectors of combat reminiscences.

Pub Date: March 1, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION