Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War [VINTAGE 2008] [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Fine unread condition light beige boards, dark brown spine, and gold spine lettering contained in a fine condition photographic dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Preliminary Page Quotes by Carl Von Clausewitz, (Principles of War) 1812, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, etc; Prologue: The Ego at War; Epilogue: The Will to Fight; Acknowledgments; Sources and Index. Illustrated with two sections of black-and-white photographs plus four pages of black-and-white maps. "They made war, not love. They were very good at it. George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel were the most flamboyant, arrogant, and brilliant generals of World War II. They've been portrayed in numerous films and written about separately in countless volumes. But this is the first time their bizarre triangular relationship - Patton and Monty's respect for Rommel (which he reciprocated) and loathing for each other - has been dissected in detail. The result is a portrait of the war as they saw it: not as a clash of mighty armies, but as a personal battle between three titanic egos. Using newly unearthed primary sources, Terry Brighton, one of Britain's most accomplished military scholars, considers such compelling questions as: Did Patton's tireless advocacy of "mechanized cavalry" change warfare permanently"; What drove Montgomery's tireless publicity seeking: megalomania, or his desire for British leadership in the postwar world?; Did Montgomery's constant clashing with Patton cost American lives?; Would Germany have won the war if the Fuhrer had taken Rommel's advice? Offering spellbinding depictions of pivotal confrontations and unprecedented insights into the men who led them, Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War is a unique exploration of a subject forever fascinating." - from the rear outer jacket. "In World War II, the U.S., Great Britain, and Germany each produced one land-force commander who towered above the rest: George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. Arrogant, publicity seeking, deeply flawed, but with a genius for command and an unparalleled enthusiasm for combat, they believed they were the war's greatest generals - and historian Terry Brighon agrees. Combining meticulous research with an incomparable storytelling talent, Brighton illuminates the ambition that propelled these men's careers and the conflicts that drove some of the war's most dramatic episodes. Until his defeat by Montgomery at El Alamein, Rommel seemed invincible; after it, his plans to wreck the Allied invasion of Europe might have worked had his Fuhrer listened to him. Short, shrill voiced Montgomery was convinced that only he knew how to conduct the war, and his triumph over Rommel seemed to prove it. Patton, who had studied Rommel's book on tactics, led U.S. forces to their first victory in North Africa, in the invasion of Sicily, and in the post D-Day breakout from Normandy. Both Patton and Montgomery saw their fight with Rommel as a personal contest. Patton compared it to a medieval joust fought with tanks instead of horses; Monty described it in terms of a tennis match. Both greatly respected their enemy, and Rommel returned the compliment. But while the supposed allies admired Rommel, they hated each other. Patton called Monty "a cocky little Limey"; Monty called Patton "a foul-mouthed lover of war." (These are merely the polite epithets.) And Brighton argues that Monty's anti-American antics "cost a good many American lives." Curiously, they were all born in November, a few years apart but under the same astrological sign: Scorpio. It means "scorpion," a creature known for its deadly, venomous sting. Each enjoyed living up to that image." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps.…