The Last Days of Patton

by Ladislas Farago

Book Overview

A Classic Account of America's Greatest Field General at the End of World War II--and the Mystery Surrounding His Death "It would be as hard to give up all thought of being a soldier] as it would be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 007019940X
• ISBN13: 9780070199408
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Just suppose .........

Just suppose Patton's life was a long, extended learning process and it took him that long, and his own WWII experience, to come to the right conclusions? However controversial that may be.

The Last Days!

This book did not give you the flattering outlook on General George Patton that the movie did.In the movie General Patton was portrayed as being heroic. In this book General Patton was given an unflattering potrayal.His commanders did not like him because of his grandstanding.Therefor he had trouble finding another command.He was finally give the administrative command of Bavaria.He also disliked the Jews.He had a deep hatred of the Russians and did not trust them as allies.He was accused of plotting war against Russia.This was a very contreversial book about General Patton.It gives you a totally opposite spin from the hit movie.

Revealing Book about Patton's Last Days

I picked up this book by accident when I purchased a lot of 6 military books on Ebay. I owned it, so I figured that I may as well read it. Luckily, for me, I was not disappointed with Mr. Farago's detailed description of Patton's last days. It reveals the tragic ending to one of American's greatest heroes from WWII.The book showed me three key lessons about Patton that I did not know before reading it. First, Patton did a pretty horrible job after the fighting was over. He was not well liked outside of the ETO, which prevented him from finding a command in the Pacific Theatre. Therefore, he was selected by default to help run post-WWII Germany. More specifically he was given authority over Bavaria, the original area where Nazism took root. In Farago's analysis, Patton was ill suited for this job, and he did a rather poor job of executing his duties. Farago shows how Patton's professional frustration prevented his ability to get the job done, and also reveals that Patton had some rather disturbing personal beliefs about the Jews. For anyone who views Patton as their personal hero, I recommend that you read this book to get the whole picture, you may not be pleased with what you find. Secondly, I learned about the tight relationship between Ike and Patton. I have read Ike's "Crusade in Europe" and that book did not really spell out the history between the two men. Their personal relationship played a key role in helping keep Patton "in the game" at several junctions, and was a definite plus for Patton. Farago explains that Patton took advantage of his friendship with Ike one too many times which resulted in his eventual demise.Lastly, this book goes into great detail about the accident that resulted in Patton's eventual death. It is a tragic tale which is worth reading. It is sad to think that one of our greatest warrior's from WWII died after the war in a rather random traffic accident.Overall, I enjoyed this book. It is well written, and an easy read. I recommend it to anyone interested in General Patton, or American leadership during the war. It has some material that you may not find in other books about the ETO.

Downfall Of A Hero

Farago's biography of the events immediately following the end of World War II and leading up to the auto accident which ultimately claimed the life of General George S. Patton Jr. is a sad read. Those familiar with the blustery general as he has been protrayed in the film and in most historical works (where he is in his prime) will possibly be disheartened by this. Yes, Patton comes off as anti-Semitic and pro-German in points, but there is a telling incident in which he answers the letters of several Jewish fathers whose sons died under his command which I think points to the heart of the man - that he was not at his core a bigot, but that he was manipulated by lesser persons around him into for a time assuming that wretched mantle (just as he was directed into administrational tasks unsuited for him by the military). Patton was obstinately not a politician, some will say to his detriment. Yes it brought about his downfall, but in the end, he was his own man - and that is the legacy which is to be admired. He was an individual who recognized his place in the greater scheme of history, did all he could to fulfill it, and then found himself bewildered after the dream was over (like many of history's great personalities). His singlemindedness and sense of purpose are characteristics which are admirable to this day, but we must remember that he was just a man and prone to the failings of men. The fact is, the greatest warrior of the 20th century didn't know how to deal with peace. An interesting book, but very sad.

A great read about the downfall of Patton

The main thing that I learned from this book is that due to his time with the Germans, Patton learned to love them and to despise the Jews. He considered the Jews, along with the Russians, "Mongoloids". I find this very disturbing. It appears as if Patton was not a great diplomat, even though he was a tough warrior. This book also discusses how the press were against him and how he was a detriment to Ike's career. I would definately recommend this one.