Synopses & Reviews
Steven Pressfield's quintet of acclaimed, bestselling novels of ancient warfare
Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Virtues of War, and
The Afghan Campaign have earned him a reputation as a master chronicler of military history, a supremely literate and engaging storyteller, and an author with acute insight into the minds of men in battle. In
Killing Rommel Pressfield extends his talents to the modern world with a WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox."
Autumn 1942. Hitler's legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks.
Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this "band of brothers" as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies' victory in North Africa.
As in all of his previous novels, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield. A vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war, Killing Rommel brilliantly dramatizes an aspect of World War II that hasn't been in the limelight since Patton. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, this galvanizing novel heralds Pressfield's gift for bringing more recent history to life.
Review
"The brutality of modern warfare and the bravery of troops on both sides of the conflict seep through every page. Killing Rommel is both a captivating history lesson and a rousing guts-'n'-glory saga. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Pressfield's story, remarkable for its historical accuracy, is dense with detail....[R]eaders will be rewarded with a vivid and gripping re-creation of the North African campaign. A signal achievement." Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
"[I]t's absolutely worth sticking with for the high-definition picture of a low tech but vicious war, and for the breathtaking gallantry of unpretentious young men and General Rommel....Brilliant, but not for the Tom Clancy set." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] thoroughly engaging book and not just for military history buffs." BookReporter.com
Synopsis
Hitler's legions have swept across Europe, leaving Churchill and the English isolated. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oil fields of the Middle East, in Pressfield's latest riveting historical novel.
Synopsis
Steven Pressfield brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary historical commando unit, the Long Range Desert Group. He describes in detail the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat under extreme desert conditions. He captures, too, the camaraderie of this band of brothers as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies' victory in North Africa. As in his acclaimed earlier novels, Pressfield combines historical accuracy and edge-of-your-seat battle scenes to create riveting fiction.
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About the Author
Steven Pressfield is the author of Gates of Fire, The Virtues of War, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, and The Afghan Campaign. He lives in Los Angeles, California.