From Publishers Weekly
One of the most distinguished American historians of WWII returns with an outstanding parallel biography of George Patton and Erwin Rommel. The research is thorough, the quality of the writing superb. The two men came from substantially different backgrounds—Patton from an upper-class family with a distinguished record in the Confederate Army, Rommel from staunchly middle-class Wurttemburgers barely eligible to send their son into the Kaiser's army. Both saw combat in WWI (Rommel far more than Patton), spent a frustrating interwar period (in which Rommel fared better than Patton) and rose to high distinction as experts in mobile warfare in WWII. Today, each is more admired in the other's country, and the author argues persuasively that they had different ambitions in their pursuit of mobility: Patton lived a cavalryman's image of antique heroism a century out-of-date, while Rommel was the consummate technical expert (except in logistics). They certainly rank together as two of the most written-about, and two of the most accomplished, military commanders of the century, and Showalter, the former head of the Society for Military History, ranks as a scholar who has done them justice, making two complex men and a vast panorama of military history remarkably accessible for experts and lay readers alike. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
A distinguished American scholar of World War II gives us an outstanding parallel biography of Erwin Rommel and George Patton, two of the most colorful and accomplished WWII leaders. Men with very different backgrounds--Patton's was an upper-crust family with a forebear who had a distinguished Confederate army record; the Rommels were middle-class Swabians, and Erwin's father saw the army as an appropriate career and a means of moving up the imperial German social ladder--both achieved distinction as mobile-war experts in WWII. Showalter's research has been thorough, which is saying something since so much has been written about both men that new biographers must deal with quite an accretion of rumors, legends, and speculation about them. Showalter writes with verve and a sense of humor, so that Clio and Thalia work in harmony in his book, something that is rare, bordering on miraculous. Military fans and general readers alike should be pleased. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
A dual biography of the two World War II generals who changed warfare--and history--forever.

General George S. Patton and General Erwin Rommel: They served their countries through two World Wars. Their temperaments, both on and off the battlefield, were overwhelmingly contrary-but their approach to modern warfare was remarkably similar.

Written by a prominent military historian, Patton and Rommel takes a provocative look at both figures, intertwining the stories of the paths they took and the decisions they made during the course of the Second World War-and compares the lives and careers of two men whose military tactics redirected the course of history.

About the Author
Dennis Showalter is a professor of history at Colorado College, visiting professor and guest lecturer at West Point, and former president of the Society for Military History. In addition to numerous articles and works on various subjects in military history, he contributed to Robert Cowley's bestselling essay collection, What If?.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"General George S. Patton. His tongue was as sharp as the cavalry saber he once wielded, and his fury as explosive as the shells he'd ordered launched from his tank divisions. Despite his profane, posturing manner, and the sheer enthusiasm for conflict that made both his peers and the public uncomfortable, Patton's very presence commanded respect. Had his superiors given him free reign, the U.S. Army would have claimed victory in Berlin as early as November of 1944." "General Erwin Rommel. His battlefield manner was authoritative, his courage proven in the trenches of World War I when he was awarded the Blue Max. He was a frontline soldier who led by example from the turrets of his panzers. Appointed to command Adolf Hitler's personal security detail, Rommel had nothing but contempt for the atrocities perpetrated by the Reich. His role in the Fuhrer's assassination attempt led to his downfall." Except for a brief confrontation in North Africa, these two legendary titans never met in combat. Patton and Rommel is the first single-volume study to deal with the parallel lives of these two generals who earned not only the loyalty and admiration of their own men, but the respect of their enemies, and the enmity of the leaders they swore to obey. From the origins of their military prowess, forged on the battlefields of World War I, to their rise through the ranks, to their inevitable clashes with political authority, military historian Dennis Showalter presents a portrait of two men whose battle strategies changed the face of warfare and continue to be studied in military academies around the globe.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly