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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Subjects Blemished By Operational Mediocrity, January 16, 2006
Content (5 Stars) - Showalter's parallel biography captures the brilliance and complexity of two controversial military leaders. Of particular interest are the author's accounts of both men's upbringing; Rommel's experiences and heroism during the First World War; context to and ellaboration on the "slapping incidents" in Sicily; and balance to both men's outspokenness, especially later in WWII. The book does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting Rommel and Patton's personal lives and command philosophies, tendencies, treatment of subordinates, etc. while weaving broader themes and events. Tangents, where found, are drawn together in failry concise conclusions. The author knows his subject. The style is conversational and authoritative. Descriptions of equipment, topography, tactical situations, timelines, maneuvers, and unit organization are informative but not heavy.
Execution (0 Stars) - The book, however, suffers by the absence of maps, diagrams and, to a lesser extent, pictures. There are none. This shortcoming obscures full understanding and appreciation of the challenges and accomplishments of the principals as well as the author's own perspective. Publishers Weekly says the "research is thorough, the quality of the writing superb." Booklist cites, "Showalter's research has been thorough..." The research may be there, but is not documented. There are two (2) footnotes in nearly 450 pages. There is no bibliography. No subtle nuances or diving into the primary sources here. As such, the work lacks a scholarly polish. The writing suffers from occasional gaffs in style and deplorable execution. Several climatic passages conclude with a German, French or Latin idiom, or an esoteric phrase, that obscures clear meaning (one is often left asking, "Huh?"). Finally, Dr. Showalter fails to acknowledge any editorial assistance, regrettably for good reason. Ubiquitous spelling and grammatical errors break the flow of an otherwise enthralling work. I found myself re-reading sentences for meaning or guessing what word was really intended rather than the one just read. This must embarrass "a distinguished American scholar..." not to mention his publisher, college and professional associates.
Atrocious editing and the absence of maps aside, I recommend the book as a fine, concise biography of Patton and Rommel, suitable for the military novice or general interest reader.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fast food history, December 28, 2005
No maps. No photos or illustrations of any kind. No footnotes. No bibliography. I was very disappointed in this book. When it came out I eagerly sought it because I am a huge Rommel fan, and always wanted to know more about Patton. As I have read everything on Rommel, I can address that issue best, but I assume the same goes for the Patton "research."
First, there is nothing new in this book. All Showalter did was paraphrase Rommel's own books! And Rommel was a better writer!
Second, as an historian myself, no notes of any kind make a non-fiction book suspect. It makes it worthless as a research source. How much is opinion? With all the German archives now accessible since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, there is wonderful new material that should be the basis for any current books.
I cannot recommend this book. I do recommend readers seek out Rommel's own 2 books, and Patton's as well, for the real insight into these two men. Historians too often think they know more about the people they never met than those people themselves. And I find too many current histories are churned out as need to publish "fast food." Another good Rommel book is Discovering the Rommel Murder by Charles F. Marshal.
Go to the horse's mouth for the real stories.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good Book, July 11, 2005
I read this book last night and I think that this is a well-researched book about two of the Second World War's famous commanders, George Patton and Erwin Rommel. I really like the fact that the book explores thier similarities and their diffrences in personality, command style, and circumstances in which they found themselves under.
The one weakness that the book has is that I couldn't use the bibliography all that much in looking up instances and I found myself somewhat frustrated.
Despite this flaw, I think that this is a very good book about Patton and Rommel which should be read.
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