Description
Book Synopsis"Better to fight for something than live for nothing." — General George S. Patton
It is 75 years since the end of WW II and the strange, mysterious death of General George S. Patton, but as in life, Patton sets off a storm of controversy.
The Tragedy of Patton: A Soldier's Date With Destiny asks the question: Why was General Patton silenced during his service in World War II? Prevented from receiving needed supplies that would have ended the war nine months earlier, freed the death camps, prevented Russian invasion of the Eastern Bloc, and Stalin's murderous rampage. Why was he fired as General of the Third Army and relegated to a governorship of post-war Bavaria? Who were his enemies? Was he a threat to Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Bradley? And is it possible as some say that the General's freakish collision with an Army truck, on the day before his departure for US, was not really an accident? Or was Patton not only dismissed by his peers, but the victim of an assassin's bullet at their behest? Was his personal silence necessary?
General George S. Patton was America's antihero of the Second World War. Robert Orlando explores whether a man of such a flawed character could have been right about his claim that because the Allied troops, some within 200 miles of Berlin, or just outside Prague, were held back from capturing the capitals to let Soviet troops move in, the Cold War was inevitable. Patton said it loudly and often enough that he was relieved of command and silenced. Patton had vowed to “take the gag off” after the war and tell the intimate truth and inner workings about controversial decisions and questionable politics that had cost the lives of his men. Was General Patton volatile, bombastic, self-absorbed, reckless? Yes, but he was also politically astute and a brilliant military strategist who delivered badly needed wins.
Questions still abound about Patton’s rise and fall. The Tragedy of Patton seeks to answer them.
Trade ReviewPraise for THE TRAGEDY OF PATTON: A Soldier's Date With Destiny by Robert Orlando
“In bright, admiring prose, Robert Orlando brings to life America’s most famous general in vivid colors. Patton’s brilliance, flaws, contradictions and beliefs leap off the pages in this fast-reading biography.” — Jonathan W. Jordan, bestselling author of Brothers, Rivals, Victors
“WWII is a lifelong passion of Orlando’s. The Tragedy of Patton has been a labor of love and truly a quest for truth and justice. His film, Silence Patton, was bold, engaging, and riveting, and so is this book. The man lost his life 75 years ago, to the shock of the world, but the life and the mystery live on. Anyone with any interest in General George S. Patton, the Cold War, his bizarre and tragic death, or his date with destiny needs to read this book.” — Paul Kengor PhD, Professor of Political Science at Grove City College, author of God and Ronald Reagan, The Divine Plan, and The Devil and Karl Marx
“I can honestly say, every military history library should have this volume on its shelf.” — Charles M. Province, The George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society
“Robert Orlando is one of America’s leading scholars on the turbulent life and interesting times of General George S. Patton. His life was full of sound and fury, who did so much for America and for the world. Patton, in addition to his many military conquests, was also a visionary. Imagine if the world had seen the Soviet threat earlier, as Patton did, how much suffering might have been prevented? Read, absorb and most of all enjoy Rob’s new tome, The Tragedy of Patton.” — Craig Shirley, Ronald Reagan biographer and presidential historian
Table of ContentsTable of Contents for THE TRAGEDY OF PATTON: A Soldier's Date With Destiny by Robert Orlando
Glossary of Names ix
Preface xv
Prologue xxiii
CHAPTER ONE The Soul of a Warrior 1
CHAPTER TWO Man Up! 23
CHAPTER THREE On the Sidelines 47
CHAPTER FOUR The Unforgiving Minute 63
CHAPTER FIVE The Puppeteers 81
CHAPTER SIX Cold War on the Horizon 107
CHAPTER SEVEN A Desk Job 121
CHAPTER EIGHT The True Cover-up 137
Epilogue 145
APPENDIX A Patton’s Bookshelf 149
APPENDIX B Timeline 153
Bibliography 159
Patton’s Speech to the Third Army 165
“Through a Glass, Darkly” 171
Acknowledgments 179
Index 181
