Nineteen Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership Review

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(More customer reviews)"Nineteen Stars" is not intended to be the definitive biographies of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Marshall, and Patton, but rather a study of their leadership styles illustrated with specific examples. Puryear provides enough background information on each general to put the various decisions and actions into an understandable context. As a study of leadership and management styles of four successful but very different military leaders, this book accomplishes its goals. Puryear gives the reader adequate appreciation of these general officers and the contributions they made, not to just the war effort, but to the military in general.
Again, this is not intended to be full-blown biographies on these military leaders, but rather a leadership study for young officers and officer candidates. However, this book will serve as an able introduction to the lives of these fascinating men, and will probably inspire a broader audience than just military members to look into more indepth works on these key leaders.

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Puryear follows MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower and Patton through the years of their military service in both peace and war.

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War As I Knew It Review

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(More customer reviews)"War As I Knew It" is not an autobiography. It is not a study of World War II. And it is not a doctoral dissertation. It is simply one of the greatest, most insightful accounts of the campaign in NW Europe, beautifully written by one of history's most charismatic and successful generals.
The book begins with a collection of open letters written by Patton during the time of his campaigns in North Africa and Sicily. For cesnorship reasons, these letters do not contain much battle information, but they provide a unique insight into the man Patton was, and how he dealt with problems that were not military in nature. He discusses his meeting with French and Arab leaders in attempts to protect his rear while he defeated the Germans to his front. The letters from Sicily are similar, discussing not so much tactics but outcomes, reactions, and the like. These early letters show how much Patton was moved around, and the interesting places that he visited.
The main part of the book covers Patton's proudest moments--commanding the U.S. Third Army. This section is wholly unique. Written shortly after they campaign ended with Germany's surrender, Patton describes the actions of Third Army from Normandy to Czechoslovakia. While he does not go into great detail about tactics and such, he provides a window into his own mind. The reader knows what he was thinking when he made his decisions, and the reasons that he made those decisions. In so doing, the reader gets a firm understanding of how an army worked in WW II. Also, he mentions his personal relationships with many different generals...ones you don't read about in history books. In short, this is a first hand account from the man who was a pure warrior.
The concluding section is Patton's gift to future leaders. He was a student of warfare, and his own contributions to the art are invaluable. He discusses everything from the conduct of general officers, to what the best tactics for attack are, to how to deal with trenchfoot! In conclusion, anyone who enjoys military history, or just plain good writing, should read this fascinating book written by a man born for war.

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