A Genius for War: A Life of General George S. Patton - Softcover

Este, Carlo D’

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000638093X ISBN 13: 9780006380931

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1996

Synopsis

This is a biography of the Second World War hero, US General George S. Patton.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Fifty years after his death, General George S. Patton Jr. remains one of the most charismatic, misunderstood and controversial figures who ever set foot on the battlefields of the Second World War. The public image of him has been influenced overwhelmingly by the George C. Scott film 'Patton', in which he is portrayed as a brash 'Old Blood and Guts'. Now, for the first time, Carlo d'Este reveals a very different, contradictory personality. With full access to Patton's private and public papers, and the co-operation of his family, D'Este presents an acute portrait of Patton's career and shows not only the extrovert Patton of public perception but also Patton the intensely private man who could burst into tears, be charming or profane quite unexpectedly, but who trained himself for greatness with a determination matched by no other general in the twentieth century.

‘Carlo D'Este's superb biography unravels the deeper complexities of the individual as well as the maturity of his military mind… D'Este's fluent style and meticulous research capture Patton's extraordinary character and commend him to the Valhalla of warriors for which he always believed himself destined.’
RAYMOND SEITZ, 'Sunday Telegraph'

‘D'Este is a first-rate historian… He writes in that fluent, legible style that was the hallmark of the 'New Yorker' before Tina Brown tried to fashionabilise it… D'Este will hold your attention for all 800 pages, with his understanding of Patton's tortuous story, the alternating bluster and self-doubt until, in the end, the Furies came for him.’
ANN CLARK, 'Daily Telegraph'

‘The result of the author's meticulous documentation is to produce a Patton even weirder, even more unsettling than anything offered by the cinema or television… This book is a magnificent portrait.’
JOHN KEEGAN, 'Spectator'

‘This book is filled with new information about many people and subjects, but at the centre is an unforgettable character who struts across the pages, his virtues and his vices writ large, towards a destiny he sought with enormous energy.’
GERHARD L. WEINBERG, 'Times Literary Supplement'

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 000638093X
• ISBN 13: 9780006380931
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 992