General Erwin Rommel. His battlefield manner was authoritative, his courage proven in the trenches of World War I when he was awarded the Blue Max. He was a front line soldier who led by example from the turrets of his Panzers. Appointed to command Adolf Hitler’s personal security detail, Rommel had nothing for contempt for the atrocities perpetrated by the Reich. His role in the Führer’s assassination attempt led to his downfall.

Except for a brief confrontation in North Africa, these two legendary titans never met in combat. Patton and Rommel is the first single-volume study to deal with the parallel lives of two generals who earned not only the loyalty and admiration of their own men, but the respect of their enemies, and the enmity of the leaders they swore to obey. From the origins of their military prowess, forged on the battlefields of World War I, to their rise through the ranks, to their inevitable clashes with political authority, military historian Dennis Showalter presents a riveting portrait of two men whose battle strategies changed the face of warfare and continue to be studied in military academies around the globe.

"A smooth, very accessible narrative that is jam-packed with enough interesting insights to keep anyone's inner scholar happy...Both Rommel and Patton come across as surprisingly thoughtful soldiers who were also lead-from-the-front hard-chargers...It is a good story, and the quality of the writing makes it even better. It is vivid, vigorous, laced with unforgettable metaphor, alternately funny and moving." —World War II Magazine

"A distinguished American scholar of World War II gives us an outstanding parallel biography." —Booklist