Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307461548 ISBN 13: 9780307461544

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY), 2009

An account of World War II as it was experienced by three influential commanders draws on primary source materials to evaluate their explosive relationships with one another, their command talents and their enthusiasm for publicity.

Review:

Praise for Patton, Montgomery, Rommel

In WWII the U.S., Great Britain and Germany each produced a ground commander who stood out from the rest and who has come to define their countries' respective ways of war. Brighton combines archival and published sources with his experience as curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Museum to compare these three men of war: George Patton, Bernard Law Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. All were showmen. All had "[s]wollen egos... easily bruised." And all possessed "an unrivaled enthusiasm for combat." Montgomery emerges as not only a battle manager but a battle captain ready to stay the course and accept the accompanying losses. Rommel's will took a different form, responding directly to the new demands of armored warfare. He took chances against odds and against orders--and his willpower overcame the risks from the enemy and the inertia imposed from his superiors. The "rollicking, mocking" Patton epitomized the dash of the cavalry in his willingness to dare, then dare again, pursuing outcomes that could not be calculated in advance. Clausewitz called audacity essential for greatness. Brighton demonstrates it in action, moving into the top rank of general audience military writers with this effervescent, perceptive triple biography. 4 maps."
--Publishers Weekly (starred)

"Entertaining and lucidly written . . . the best way of comparing these three formidable egos--Brighton puts the three generals in the ring and lets them slug it out."
--Sunday Times

"Brighton has masterfully welded together a compellingly readable triple biography of three of WWII's most charismatic and enigmatic commanders. Highly recommended."
--Mason B. Webb, WWII History magazine

"Brighton does an admirable job at throwing new light on his subjects and puncturing some of the myths that surround them."
--Sunday Business Post

Praise for Hell Riders
"A first-rate account . . . written with humour and understanding. A masterly, moving, and entertaining book."
--Times (UK)

"Fascinating."
--Daily Mail

"Thorough, accurate, concise, clear. Brighton writes with pace and precision. . . . As an account of this episode, his book will be hard to beat. Excellent."
--Spectator

"Hard to put down, full of interesting historical fact, highly recommended."
--Regiment Magazine

From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author:

TERRY BRIGHTON is a master historian and curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Regimental Museum. He is also the author of Hell Riders: The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade. He lives in England.