Customer Reviews

Rommel: Desert Fox

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Written by a soldier who has experienced first hand the desert war, naturally makes this book a good read. However it was written just after WW2 and there was much myth and confusion surrounding the figure of Rommel himself. A standard biography during its time(churchill constantly refers to this book in his WW2 memoirs), however time and research has revealed that Young's portrayal of Rommel's character is not so accurate. For example he says that Rommel was humble and disliked publicity but we now know that the Desert Fox was quite vain, courted publicity and exploited it. The best book on Rommel is I beleive, David Irving's "On the trail of the FOX". The book reads like an explosive novel and I finished the book in one night. Fraser's "knight's cross" is also very detailed although it is not as exiting a read as Irving's book.

Desmond Young, a general in the British army, writes a truly magnificent story of Rommel, his accomplishments, failures - both personal and professional, his emotional journey toward realizing the demon that he was part of, and his tragic end.

Young superbly depicts a realistic picture of that era and at times makes the reader feel they are present in the desert watching the game of war.

With his command of the English language, his personal experience of WWII, he argues that it is not the German qualities the rest of the world despises, but the frequent abuse of them by their rulers in the past.

Written by a british officer who fought and was captured by Rommel in the deseret. The author goes to all the human limits of reserch to find and interview anyone who ever knew Rommel personaly. He goes to great lengths to tell us the personality of Rommel and his impact on those who surrounded him. A MUST for any WWII historian or buff. If you have never read a book on Rommel before, Start with this one.

Written shortly after the war, Rommel is a fairly sympathetic biography of the famed "Desert Fox". Most interesting was the story of his pre-war military service, in particular his service during the First World War. Previously not familiar with this, I found it interesting how it was tactics learned while serving with a special Wuerttemburg army unit that influenced his thinking during the North Africe campaign. Certainly worth reading for all those interested in the war, but there are no doubt better, more thorough studies of Rommel available.

Young did a commendable job writing his biography of German Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel. He was able to provide an interesting psycho-biographical picture of Rommel the man, which all too often is avoided in other books chronicling the lives of great military commanders. Rather than only concentrate on the battles and strategies of Rommel, Young provided insight into the opinions of the General in regards to Hitler, the Nazi party, and other aspects of WWII.
According to Young, Rommel was a private man, devoted to his family and to the German people. His commitment to Germany was shown quite clearly when he encouraged the Fuehrer to seek a peaceful solution to the war in order to save the lives of his soldiers and German citizens. However, his commitments ultimately cost Rommel his life.
However, I wish Young would have provided more in-depth information regarding the major battles in which Rommel participated. A slightly deeper analysis of the campaign in Africa would have brought to light Rommel's decision to join in the attempt to remove Hitler from power. Some maps would have also proved helpful for those of us who lack a profound knowledge of North African geography.
Still, Young provided an excellent profile of the one of the most famous commanders of WWII, and of all time.

Rommel was first a soldier in the German Army and not a Nazi madman. He served as all soldiers should serve, his country and his troops. By the time he realized the path Hitler had chosen it was too late. This book tells the story of Erwin Rommel the man and soldier not the story of a General/Field Marshall in the Nazi army. Rommel was one of the best leaders of military forces in WWII except he was on the wrong side and was the victim of "lack of support". The western forces were very lucky Rommel suffered from the incompetence of those above him.

hello,

this is not a review.i am trying to locate the writer desmond young,or the publisher.
i have the authentic oil painting of erwin rommel.i am a collector of world war 2 memorabilia.
i came into the possession of the oil painting from a dealer in oklahoma.
i've had the paperback book rommel the desert fox,since it originally was published,but i put it on my
bookshelf,and never opened it until a couple of day's ago.for whatever reason i picked up he book,and
began looking through the picture's.then to my amazement i found the photo of frau rommel sitting on
a sofa,and behind her hung the oil painting of her husband.the reason i'm writing this letter to you,
is i believe the painting could be a significant piece of history,or interest to otyher partie's,
possibly desmond young the writer or his publisher,or the rommel family for that matter.
whomever read's thisw letter,hopefully you will make an effort to let the interested partie's know that
i have the painting,and the signed painting is by the artist heinrich eckhart.

thank you,
joe

In Desmond Young's biography, "Rommel: The Desert Fox" he gives a stylish and relatively brief telling of the life and military career of Erwin Rommel. Young himself was a veteran of two world wars and served with the British Army in the Middle East. His book is an immensely enjoyable read and puts a human face upon a general who served the most evil man in history. There is somewhat of a legend around the figure of Erwin Rommel and this book definitely adds to the lore. While it includes the documented movements of the Afrika Corps and the British 8th Army, the real focus of the book is the larger than life persona of Rommel.

The author definitely held on to some Victorian beliefs about warfare and chivalry which are evident in the book. Much of the testimony is from German generals Bayerlein and Von Ravenstein who both developed a friendship with the author after the war in the process of writing this book (originally published in 1950). The existence of this code of conduct and even mutual respect between adversaries is a defining feature and it paints the exploits of Rommel in a most sympathetic light. The reader also understands the divisions that existed in the German military between the Wermacht and the SS. These were key in bringing the ultimate demise of Rommel after the attempt on Hitler's life on July 20, 1944.

Rommel's life began most ordinarily in the Swabian portion of Germany. While a shy young boy, he developed a love for skiing and athletics during his teen years. His service during World War I is the stuff of legend as his exploits earned him the highest decorations in the German Army. His service spanned the four years of the war as he saw action as a junior officer in Beglium, France, Romania and Italy. His noted for his boldness and lead by example style and especially for his ability to maneuver around the enemy in a dynamic fashion (not an easy task in static trench warfare).

The inter war years saw Rommel gradually rise throughout the German Army as he taught at a military academy. Upon the outbreak of the war Rommel lead his 7th Panzer Division (the Ghost Division) through Poland and France earning him a great reputation as leader of men and excellent strategist in mobile tank tactics.

AS the war in North Africa heats up with Italy's entrance into the Tri-Partite pact, Rommel is soon assigned to the desert where his genius for armored strategy could be used best in wide open expanses. The bulk of Young's book takes place in Afrika and chronicles the many ups and downs of Rommel's time there fighting the British 8th Army and its three commanders ( Wavell, Auchenlech, Montgomery). Rommel was perhaps best known for his boldness in attack and his intuition in predicting his enemies next move. This sixth sense led to his rapid victory in 1941 as he pushed the British back across Libya with the bare minimum of divisions (mainly the 15th and 21st Panzer). This began almost three years of see sawing desert combat which saw the front lines fluctuate across the entire length of Libya four or five times. Rommel was not the best administrator (which would contribute to the Corps supply problems) but his ability to lead his undersized force in battle after battle is a testament to the cohesion of his units (despite the shoddy Italian divisions which made up the majority of the Axis force in North Africa). With the defeat at El Alamein, Rommel left Africa with a bout of jaundice only to return to the first battles against the Americans. He was evacuated before the eventual surrender in May of 43. The book rounds out with his time in Normandy and his forced suicide because of Hitler's suspicions after the July 20 plot. A great and painless read about the last German general to be respected by the Allies.

I just finished this book and feel that I really have a glimpse into Erwin Rommel's psyche. Without telling you (and spoiling the book) he was a soldier's soldier. Veterans of the Afrika Korp would say that they "fought with Rommel" just as 3rd Army veterans proudly say that they fought with Patton.

He had almost a naivete about politics and Hitler until the last year of the war.

Young (who was captured in North Africa by Rommels Army and a General) interviews surviving members of Rommel's staff and in conversations British General to German Generals talk about tactics in North Africa and the many "if onlys" and "what if's".

Finally after interviewing both his wife Lucie and son Manfred his description of their visit to his house by a Nazi general with his options - suicide or family punishment and disgrace - well, you believe that you are in the house with the Rommels. With this book you realize that with only a few "if onlys" WW2 would have been very different.

I think this book is a classic - probably definitive - biography on Erwin Rommel and it undoubtedly let to the 1951 movie with James Mason (in which the author has a part)

This book is interesting provided you treat it as a narrative of the war and don't expect the ultimate Rommel biography. Written by a British general only five years after the war, the book has some problems as a scholarly work, the most blatant being it is hardly impartial. The author takes an "us vs. them" tone, always referring to the British as "we" and making no secret who he feels the good guys are. Young tends to get sidetracked and talk about himself and tell stories about other officers that don't necessarily have a lot to do with Rommel, just because he finds them interesting. He also fails to explain many abbreviations or translate foreign phrases.

It works as a book, however, because it is an interesting look at the time period and the way Rommel was viewed by his contemporaries and his opponents. He interviews Rommel's wife and son as well as many men who served with him and who fought against him. It was written at a time when the war was still fresh in everyone's mind and no one knew how Germany was going to turn out. This gives it an immediacy that most historical biographies, usually written decades or centuries later, don't have. This also means it lacks the new information that would have been uncovered by decades of research, but as I said, it is not the ultimate biography of Rommel, just one side of the story. If you treat it as such, it is an interesting read.