Brothers, Rivals, Victors

February 1, 2011

An inspired collective biography of the three American generals—and friends—who conquered the Nazis.

Born too late to be involved in World War I, these three soldiers—Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Omar Bradley—all graduates of West Point, were plunged into the quagmire of World War II by their 50s, and they took up the challenge with relish. When Gen. George C. Marshall was named the U.S. Army's Chief of Staff in 1939, he maneuvered the three talented career officers to plum positions, though it was Eisenhower's appointment as Commanding General, European Theater of Operations, in 1942, that would determine the fates of the other two. Eisenhower was the master planner, while his longtime friend Patton, a cocky patrician with a penchant for tanks and profanity, proved his striker—the Stonewall Jackson to his Robert E. Lee, as Patton had joked. Gen. Bradley, the tall, quiet Missourian, an instructor of math and tactics, was the last to be called overseas, sent to work with Patton in North Africa; he would eventually take over Patton's II Corps to brilliant effect. Patton, meanwhile, begrudged Eisenhower's insistence on moving in tandem with the Allies, and suspected he was pro-British, while Eisenhower and Bradley were frequently enraged by Patton's blustery, precipitous style, especially during the conquest of Sicily. A master assault general, however, Patton was Eisenhower's heavy hitter in the Operation Overlord amphibious invasion of 1944. Ably marshalling a considerable amount of research, Jordan (Lone Star Navy: Texas, the Fight for the Gulf of Mexico, and the Shaping of the American West, 2005, etc.) fashions a truly compelling narrative of three outsized American military figures.

A masterly, exciting study of character and tactics in World War II.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 15, 2011

These three soldiers, associates long before World War II, led the U.S. Army against the Axis in Northwest Africa, Sicily, and Western Europe. While legend holds that they got along well, in reality theirs was a troubled partnership; Eisenhower and Bradley were disgusted with Patton's hunger for publicity, and Eisenhower was challenged to work with the British and French. Independent historian Jordan (Lone Star Navy), with research based on diaries and personal accounts, puts us in the mindset of the protagonists and their staffs to understand what was boiling under the surface. Another combination of generals might have fared better or worse--we will never know. Patton died in December 1945 after a car accident, while Eisenhower and Bradley moved upward and on. This is very much an emotional military history, compelling and easy to read, yet also well documented. Recommended to both specialists and general readers.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
This thick, dense volume tells a not wholly unfamiliar story, that of the triumvirate of generals Jordan credits with the U.S. Armys victory in Europe in WWII: Eisenhower, the staff officer and diplomat; Patton, the fervid mobile warrior; and Bradley, the scholarly infantryman. More credit should be accorded to other useful players, such as the First Armys Courtney Hodges, and less pro-American bias indulged when dealing with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. But overall, this is a well-researched, well-written book, so comprehensive that WWII collections large and small may consider it a useful addition.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)