The Patton Papers 1940-1945, edited by Martin Blumenson
I read this book and highly recommend it. Except for the last several days of Patton’s life, the rest of the book is a well-edited compilation of letters from and to Patton, general orders, and mostly from his diary. There are some letters, a few, from other people about him. The Patton family gave full access to Blumenson of Patton’s papers.
I’ve read about General Patton in other books but learned a lot about him from this one. To truly understand the man, this book is the place to do it because it’s in Patton’s own words.
If you don’t have time to read through 850+ pages, go to the library and read Blumenson’s last chapter, The Legend and the Man. It’s over 20 pages and is a good summary of the man. By the way, the preceding chapter provides an excellent account of his death following his car crash. He survived 12 days and died how he fought—bravely.
