"War is my work and I know I sound sometimes as though I liked it; perhaps I do -- how can I tell? -- but this war hurts everybody."
 -- Patton to Henry J. Taylor, 1945
General George S. Patton, Jr., an inspirational leader and outstanding tactician, has intrigued and confounded his biographers. Now, utilizing untapped archival materials in both the United States and England, government documents, family papers, and oral histories, Stanley P. Hirshson creates the most balanced portrait of Patton ever written. It reveals Patton as a complex soldier capable of brilliant military maneuvers but also of inspiring his troops with fiery speeches that resulted in horrendous acts, such as the massacres of Italian civilians, It explains Patton's belief in a soldier's Valhalla, connects the family's wealth to one of America's bitterest labor strikes, and disputes the usual interpretation of Patton's relief from command of the Third Army.
In investigating this complex man, Hirshson has uncovered surprising material about a series of civilian massacres in Sicily, about the two slapping incidents, about attempts to exploit Patton's diary after his death, and about Patton's relations with top Allied generals. Patton emerges as a soldier of great imagination and courage, and his military campaigns make for edge-of-the-seat reading. All the drama of Patton's life comes alive in this meticulously documented volume.

General Patton: A Soldier's Life

Biographies & Memoirs

Hirshson, Stanley

Historical

Harper

General George S. Patton Jr, an inspirational leader and outstanding tactician, has intrigued and confounded his biographers. Utilising untapped archival materials in both the USA and UK, government documents, family papers, and oral histories, Hirshson creates the most balanced portrait of Patton ever written. It reveals Patton as a complex soldier capable of brilliant military manoeuvres but also of inspiring his troops with fiery speeches that resulted in horrendous acts, such as the massacres of Italian civilians. It explains Patton′s belief in a soldier′s Valhalla, connects the family′s wealth to one of America′s bitterest labour strikes, and disputes the usual interpretation of Patton′s relief from command of the Third Army. In investigating this complex man, Hirshson has uncovered surprising material about a series of civilian massacres in Sicily, about the two slapping incidents, about attempts to exploit Patton′s diary after his death, and about Patton′s relations with top Allied generals. Patton emerges as a soldier of great imagination and courage, and his military campaigns make for edge-of-the-seat reading. All the drama of Patton′s life comes alive in this meticulously documented volume.

Arts & Literature

Harper-perennial

A major historical biography of George C. Marshall—the general who ran the U.S. campaign during the Second World War, the Secretary of State who oversaw the successful rebuilding of post-war Europe, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—and the first to offer a complete picture of his life.
While Eisenhower Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, MacArthur, Nimitz, and Leahy waged battles in Europe and the Pacific, one military leader actually ran World War II for America, overseeing personnel and logistics: Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 to 1945, George C. Marshall.
This interpretive biography of George C. Marshall follows his life from his childhood in Western Pennsylvania and his military training at the Virginia Military Institute to his role during and after World War II and his death in 1959 at the age of seventy-eight. It brings to light the virtuous historical role models who inspired him, including George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and his relationships with the Washington political establishment, military brass, and foreign leaders, from Harry Truman to Chiang Kai-shek. It explores Marshall’s successes and failures during World War II, and his contributions through two critical years of the emerging Cold War—including the transformative Marshall Plan, which saved Western Europe from Soviet domination, and the failed attempt to unite China’s nationalists and communists.
Based on breathtaking research and filled with rich detail, George Marshall is sure to be hailed as the definitive work on one of the most influential figures in American history.

George Marshall: A Biography

Unger, Irwin

Unger, Debi

“Elegant and iconoclastic . . . refreshing . . . persuasive.”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Here is the first biography to offer a complete picture of the life of George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 to 1945 and the military leader who actually ran World War II for America as he oversaw all personnel and logistics.
Following Marshall from his childhood in western Pennsylvania and his training at the Virginia Military Institute to his role during and after World War II and his death in 1959 at the age of seventy-eight, this biography casts light on the inspiration he took from historical role models, such as George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and his relationships with military brass, the Washington political establishment, and world leaders, from Harry Truman to Chiang Kai-shek. It also explores Marshall’s triumphs and defeats during World War II, and his contributions through two critical years of the emerging Cold War—including the transformative Marshall Plan, which saved Western Europe from Soviet domination, and his failed attempt to unite China’s Nationalists and Communists.
Based on exhaustive research and filled with rich detail, George Marshall is sure to be hailed as the definitive work on one of the most influential figures in American history.
“A grand but judicious biography of a fascinating man.”—Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff

A biography of General Dodge and his work with the Union Pacific Railroad

Grenville M. Dodge: Soldier, Politician, Railroad Pioneer

Indiana University Press

Hard Cover; Good; Dust Jacket - Good; First Edition, Hardcover. Good / Good. Book back cloth board lightly stained. DJ has several chips & tears, but totally intact. 391 pages - illustrated

The Lion of the Lord: A Biography of Brigham Young

KNOPF

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hirshson, Stanley. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hirshson, Stanley

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hirshson, Stanley. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

General Patton: A Soldier's Life

General Patton: A Soldier's Life

George Marshall: A Biography

George Marshall: A Biography

Grenville M. Dodge: Soldier, Politician, Railroad Pioneer

The Lion of the Lord: A Biography of Brigham Young