Killing Rommel: A Novel [Hardcover]

Steven Pressfield (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 6, 2008

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To watch videos featuring the story behind Killing Rommel, visit www.KillingRommel.com
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Steven Pressfield’s quintet of acclaimed, bestselling novels of ancient warfare— Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Virtues of War, and The Afghan Campaign— have earned him a reputation as a master chronicler of military history, a supremely literate and engaging storyteller, and an author with acute insight into the minds of men in battle. In Killing Rommel Pressfield extends his talents to the modern world with a WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox."

Autumn 1942. Hitler’s legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan—send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte—Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this “band of brothers” as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies’ victory in North Africa.

As in all of his previous novels, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield. A vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war, Killing Rommel brilliantly dramatizes an aspect of World War II that hasn’t been in the limelight since Patton. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, this galvanizing novel heralds Pressfield’s gift for bringing more recent history to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. After five novels about conflict in ancient times (Gates of War, etc.), Pressfield effortlessly gives fresh life to wartime romance and the rigors of combat in a superior WWII thriller. Framed as the memoir of a British officer, the book is based on an actual British plot to assassinate the "Desert Fox," German field marshal Erwin Rommel, during late 1942 and early 1943 in North Africa. The author painstakingly sets the stage for later fireworks by charting the prewar career of R. Lawrence "Chap" Chapman, especially his relationship with the brilliant but doomed Zachary Stein, Chap's tutor and mentor at Oxford. Chap also falls in love with sexy Rose McCall, whose brains and brass later get her posted to naval intelligence in Egypt. As a young lieutenant, Chap joins the team assembled to go after Rommel. Pressfield expertly juxtaposes the personal with the historical, with authentic battle descriptions. Crisp writing carries readers through success, failure and a final face-to-face encounter with Rommel that's no less exciting for knowing the outcome. (Apr.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Moving away from the ancient world and into the 20th century seems to have served Steven Pressfield quite well. Many readers may be unfamiliar with the Long Range Desert Group (popularized in the 1960s TV series The Rat Patrol), but this powerful, thoroughly researched novel should change that. Pressfield creates the same edge-of-your-seat drama, remarkable battle scenes, and strong characters that populate his acclaimed novels of ancient warfare. Chapman contemplates war as he learns to fight and lead amid carnage; Rommel’s spirit threatens like a dark cloud over the entire story; and the ruthless desert emerges as its own character. The reviewer at Armchair General sums it up: “Reading Killing Rommel is the closest thing to actually participating in one of these daring WWII raids in the trackless desert of North Africa that any of us today will ever get.”
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385519702
• ISBN-13: 978-0385519700
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

STEVEN PRESSFIELD is the author of the hugely successful historical novels Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and Last of the Amazons. His debut novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was made into a movie starring Matt Damon and Will Smith in 2000. He lives in California.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 120 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson in Honor May 6, 2008

By E.S. Kraay

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The short line on Steven Pressfield's new book: the best. It almost hurts to write that because I've hung to Gates of Fire for a decade at the top of my best books ever list, a list that includes books from a wide genre, Victor Hugo to Stephen King, Tom Clancy to Par Lagerkvist, Mark Helprin to Howard Fast and everywhere in between. Pressfield's characters captured me from the first pages, and this tale of honor among men refused to let me put the book down. If you are a Pressfield fan, this book will not disappoint you on any level. If you are new to Mr. Pressfield, this book will encourage you to read his others.

I am particularly fond of historical novels because I consider them a painless way to learn history. Mr. Pressfield has never failed to teach his readers all the details within the historical context in which he writes, in this case, about the little known Long Range Desert Group, the LRDG, the predecessor to Special Forces as we know them in the modern era.

The story is simple: the memoir of a LRDG lieutenant who is part of a mission to kill Field Marshall Rommel and thereby disrupt the Axis control of North Africa and its hold on oil assets in the Middle East during World War II. The characters are noteworthy: average men with simple vocations who rise above their commonality in extraordinary circumstances by committing themselves to a mission simply because it was their job. The prose is crisp and fast and the story moves quickly and with intensity.

That is the short of it: great story with great characters that is impossible to put down until you've finished the final page. Scrupulously researched like all Pressfield books and packed with the type of action that would draw viewers to the big screen in droves.... Hollywood cannot let this one pass. That's the short of it. If you need more, please continue .....

Steven Pressfield is a literary risk-taker: he started with a mystical golf journey, moved into the realm of ancient Greek history and now finds himself in the blistering deserts of North Africa surrounded by Rommel's Africa Corp. The common thread: ordinary men are capable of uncommon deeds when their purpose is fixed and their hearts are committed. Pressfield has told his stories as a fictional character, as a mythical woman, as a real historical character and now as Everyman in the guise of Lt. Chapman, "Chap" who finds himself in the middle of an unthinkable mission to cut off the head of the snake, to kill arguably the most dynamic military mind of modern warfare, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.

As I journeyed through Mr. Pressfield's ancient histories, I was always very comfortable with his prose. It immersed me into a world, ancient and distant from my own. His prose is part of his genius as it captures the flavor of his historical era. Killing Rommel is his best writing yet. Mr. Pressfield has even elected to use the `s' in place of the `z' as is common in the King's English, "civilisation," for example instead of "civilization;" "tire" becomes "tyre." The choice of words and sentence structure help set the mood of the book by thrusting the reader into the 1940's. The reader becomes a part of the story.

From start to finish, our narrator emphasizes the character of Rommel, chivalrous and honorable. Despite Rommel's admirable personal qualities, the Allies are convinced that without him, the Axis struggle in North Africa will collapse, hence Churchill's directive to kill Rommel. I will not reveal any of the many twists that Mr. Pressfield has crafted, but when I finished the book, I held the same respect for the Desert Fox that was shared by Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery and the members of the LRDG, heroes all. Within hours after finishing the book, I found myself contemplating how the German Republic could have produced two, such diverse characters at each end of the proverbial spectrum as Erwin Rommel and Adolf Hitler. How could one wage war with regret and honor while the other directed the murder of millions of innocent people? Intentionally or not, Mr. Pressfield elicited these questions from me as I read this book. While there is no answer, the future requires us to ask ourselves such questions as we reflect on our past.

You probably already know that Rommel was not killed by the LRDG or any other group of Allies. The pursuit and the encounter however will make this harrowing journey through the desert more than worthwhile.

I am a slow reader. A solid 80% of the books I read are novels. Only once in my life have I ever sat and read a book from cover to cover with no breaks. One Friday evening in 1971 while in pilot training in Georgia, I opened The Exorcist and didn't put it down until early the next morning, scared witless I might add. Thirty-seven years later, older and wiser, I did the same thing with Killing Rommel; I devoured it in a single night. This time when I put the book down, I felt pride to be able to call myself a true brother-in-arms to soldiers past, present and future.

Four decades ago while still a senior in college, I read Armageddon by Leon Uris. That is the only novel I have ever used a magic marker on. Within the last month, I had that old 1963 copy out and found exactly the passages I was looking for thanks to that blue marker. Last week, once again, I broke out a marker and wielded it for the first time in 40 years while I read Killing Rommel. I sensed early on that this is a special book. I was right. In what is certainly a profound, autobiographical conviction, Mr. Pressfield has Chap's 'dear friend and brother-in-law' include these words in Chap's eulogy, "Literature was his religion. He believed in the written word, in the soul-to-soul communion between writer and reader that takes place in the silence between the covers of a book."

American historian and philosopher Will Durant once said, "We Americans are the best informed people on earth as to the events of the last twenty-four hours; we are the not the best informed as to the events of the last sixty centuries." For a decade now, Steven Pressfield has given us a very entertaining way to play catch up. We need to thank him and exploit his efforts. Mr. Pressfield believes in the written word. Read more ›

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars History With Feeling June 25, 2008

By David Donelson

Format:Hardcover

I struggled for awhile with Steven Pressfield's Killing Rommel, but came to appreciate it more the deeper I delved into its compelling story. The difficulty I had was in finding motivation for the characters among the almost overwhelmingly detailed descriptions of the theater of war, the weapons, the military organizations, politics, and combat operations. Once I allowed the voices of the characters to come through, however, I discovered that they were driven by a simple but powerful force: honor.

The authoritative chronicle of military history is Pressfield's forte. In this book, he brings his considerable research and facile presentation style to the story of an unsung secret unit of the British Army, the Long Range Desert Group, whose mission is simple: find and kill the legendary commander of the German Afrika Korps, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel. The story takes place in 1942, when Rommel and his Panzers have defeated the British Eighth Army and stand ready to capture Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of Arabia.

The LRDG is sent to decapitate the Afrika Korps by killing its leader, a desperate bid to turn the tide of the war. The story is based on actual ops, but told from the point of view of a young Lieutenant, "Chap" Chapman, who has recently married his sweetheart before shipping out for the desert. His attempts to communicate with her and meet their new-born child provide welcome human interest relief from the unending tales of desert warfare.

Pressfield goes to great length to show the reader what combat is like, with extensive descriptions of tactics, weapons, and the skills necessary to survive in the brutal desert environment.... He also plumbs the feelings of his characters, their doubts and fears, their blind spots and their visions in both the heat of battle and the long slogs of ennui between. It's a realistic description of warfare, both modern and ancient, and the way it plays on the men and women involved.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo Read more ›

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Horror and Glory of War in North Africa May 7, 2008

By Mark R. Whittington VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Killing Rommel, a novel written by Stephen Pressfield, is a fictional memoir of a World War II British officer named Chapman who serves in the North Africa Campaign. It is also an awesome story of men at war.

In Killing Rommel, the reader follows the fictional Chapman through his early life at a British public school, Oxford, the incredible seesaw fight in North Africa between the British 8th Army and Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, and then an ultimately doomed raid with the famous Long Range Desert Task Force to assassinate the German commander who was called, deservedly, the Desert Fox. Along the way the reader gets a feeling for what it was like to participate in one of the oddest campaigns in military history, atypical to most wars of the 20th Century, certainly on World War II.

Chapman, a tank commander, is attached to the Long Range Desert Task Force in a mission designed to kill that man of honor and brilliance. But first they have to find their target, a story that occupies most of the last third of the novel. What follows is an epic of men at war, it's horror and glory, as compelling as anything Stephen Pressfield has written before, in his novels set in Ancient Greece.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another blockbuster !! May 6, 2008

By Andrew Lubin

Format:Hardcover

In "Killing Rommel" veteran author Steven Pressfield has written yet another vivid and exciting novel detailing the matter-of-fact heroics and actions by the warriors who fight and too-often die.

Set in North Africa during the British fight against Gen Erwin Rommel in 1942, Pressfield takes the exploits of the British Army's little-known Long Range Desert Group, and presents the reader with yet another well-researched and exciting story of men at war.

As is Pressfield's style, he tells the story from the viewpoint of one of the participants. Lt. Lawrence Chapman is one of Pressfield's proverbial citizen-soldiers, a young man thrust into a war for which his middle-class collegiate upbringing has not at all prepared him. While normally in Pressfield's books it's the enlisted men who are the narrators and telling the story from the boots-on-the-ground perspective, it's a unique change in approach as Lt. Chapman brings an officer's point of view to the fight.

The war in 1942 in North Africa was going badly for the Allies. Gen Rommel's strategy and tactics overwhelmed Gen Montgomery's British troops, and the initial American Army reinforcements were routed at the Kasserine Pass. If Rommel could successfully capture Cairo, then the Germans would control the middle-eastern oil fields, the Suez Canal, and quick access to India and the Pacific, all of which would have horrific repercussions on the Allied war effort.

The British had previously formed the Long Range Desert Group as a desert recon force, which they now tasked to kill Rommel, and Pressfield uses Lt. Chapman to narrate the war in the desert.

Historically accurate, "Killing Rommel" describes a war that most in Americans might only know through the old television show "Rat Patrol...." Driving old Chevrolet trucks that they up-armor themselves, often short on petrol, rations, water, and ammunition, Lt Chapman depicts the fight in North Africa between the beleaguered Brits and Rommel's Afrika Corps as he learns to command as he learns to fight.

Those who have fought, and especially those Marines who have fought at An-Nasiriyah, Fallujah, Haditha, and Anbar Province, will understand the pictures Pressfield paints of the thirst, heat, sand, and boredom - interrupted by intense combat - in the desert. He draws the reader into the action with Chapman and his men as they drive -often by stars and dead reckoning - to their rendezvous points and multiple missions.

As Pressfield's books are so famously noted, the characters in "Killing Rommel" possess a quiet courage and grow into a maturity far beyond their years. Similar to Xeo in "Gates of Fire," and Matthais in "The Afghan Campaign," the deep story here is how Chapman and his fellow Tommies are thrown into some extraordinarily ugly situations, and then respond. It's the story of these citizen-soldiers and how they react to the carnage around them that makes "Killing Rommel" one of Pressfield's best books. Read more ›