About the book, from the publisher:
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."Among the praise for Killing Rommel:
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.
"After five novels about conflict in ancient times (Gates of War, etc.), Pressfield effortlessly gives fresh life to wartime romance and the rigors of combat in a superior WWII thriller. Framed as the memoir of a British officer, the book is based on an actual British plot to assassinate the "Desert Fox," German field marshal Erwin Rommel, during late 1942 and early 1943 in North Africa. The author painstakingly sets the stage for later fireworks by charting the prewar career of R. Lawrence "Chap" Chapman, especially his relationship with the brilliant but doomed Zachary Stein, Chap's tutor and mentor at Oxford. Chap also falls in love with sexy Rose McCall, whose brains and brass later get her posted to naval intelligence in Egypt. As a young lieutenant, Chap joins the team assembled to go after Rommel. Pressfield expertly juxtaposes the personal with the historical, with authentic battle descriptions. Crisp writing carries readers through success, failure and a final face-to-face encounter with Rommel that's no less exciting for knowing the outcome."Read an excerpt from Killing Rommel, and learn more about the book and author at Steven Pressfield's website.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Pressfield’s book is like [Patrick] O’Brian’s, in that he gives the reader an excellent idea of the real lives of these men–their exertions, their privations, their disappointments, their victories. And like O’Brian, Pressfield knows how to write action–the battle scenes here are very well done. But perhaps the most apt part of the comparison is that Pressfield, like O’Brian, tells the story he wants to tell. He doesn’t chain himself to some thriller format that requires that all cliches be invoked. Characters pop up and disappear, conflict is sometimes sidestepped, expectations are ignored. The result is a book with its own rhythm, its own texture, its own veracity, its own place in your memory."
--Jamie Malanowski
"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."
--Paul Katz, Entertainment Weekly
"Pressfield has produced a splendid tour de force, one that brings to life the heroism, sacrifice, tragedy, frustration, fear and -- yes -- thrill of war. It should not be missed by military-history buffs or by anyone who wants a moving reminder of the bravery, ingenuity and sacrifice that ordinary men are capable of when given a cause they believe in."
--Washington Post
"If you're ancient enough to have watched The Rat Patrol, the TV series from the 60s (guilty as charged), you know about the Long Range Desert Group. These brave lads were charged with getting behind enemy lines in North Africa to track down Germany's Field Rommel. Despite the titillating title, killing the elusive Desert Fox wasn't so easy. Steven Pressfield's well-written fiction memoir (by a literate British lieutenant named Chapman) is surprisingly comtemplative, more a coming-of-age tale than a thriller. But gearheads will love every vehicular snafu, and the one pulse-racing battle sequence – when Chapman's patrol is shot up during a surprise encounter with the enemy – is worth the wait."
--USA Today
Steven Pressfield is the author of Gates of Fire, The Virtues of War, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and The Afghan Campaign.
The Page 69 Test: Killing Rommel.
--Marshal Zeringue
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