General Patton: A Soldier's Life

(Paperback)

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The most complete biography of [Patton] yet produced. Chicago Tribune

Utilizing untapped archival materials from the United States and England, Stanley P. Hirshson creates the most balanced portrait of Patton ever written.

General Patton: A Soldiers Life reveals Patton as a complex soldier capable of brilliant military maneuvers but also of inspiring horrendous acts with fiery speeches. It explains Pattons belief in a soldiers Valhalla, connects the familys wealth to one of Americas bitterest labor strikes, and disputes the usual interpretation of Pattons relief from command of the Third Army.

While investigating this complex man, Hirshson has uncovered surprising material about a series of civilian and military massacres in Sicily, attempts to exploit Pattons diary after his death, and Pattons relations with top Allied generals. In this meticulously documented volume, Patton comes to life.

Reviews

"The most complete biography of [Patton] yet produced." -- Chicago Tribune

"A fuller, more detailed study of Patton than what has come before, thanks in part to Hirshson's exhaustive research of overlooked, forgotten archival material and newly available Patton family papers." -- Joseph L. Galloway, Los Angeles Times

"Hirshson skillfully intertwines the Patton family story with that of the general's professional life." -- Washington Post Book World

"Hirshson does a fine job of capturing George S. Patton's contradictions and the decidedly unpleasant aspects of his character, both correcting and amplifying the work of earlier, often worshipful biographers. . . . Readers who keep at this long, dense biography will see that Hirshson treats Patton's very real accomplishments on the battlefield with great respect. After all, the general who seized more enemy-held territory than any other at tremendous cost to the foe deserves his reputation as a strategist to rival Napolean. . .or Genghis Kahn." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Hirshson's exhaustively researched and well-written biography presents a balanced view of Patton's life from every angle. . . .The best biography of Patton to date, this will most likely become the definitive work on his life." -- Publishers Weekly

"[Hirshson] gives new perspective to Patton's abundant contradictions--his unique mix of bluster and brilliance, hubris and kindness, fierce loyalties and fiercer prejudices....Exhaustively researched and cleanly written, this should become the definitive Patton biography." -- Navy Times

"Using new archival evidence, Hirshson offers the most complete look yet at the enigmatic warrior-poet." -- U.S. News & World Report

"Of all the World War II generals, "Blood and Guts Patton" was the most controversial and remains so to this day, hated by some and loved by others." -- New York Newsday

Author Bio

Stanley P. Hirshson was professor of history at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of biographies of Brigham Young, Gen. William T. Sherman, and Gen. George Patton, and died in 2003.