Killing Patton Review

    I read Killing Patton written by Martin Dugard and Billy O’ Reilly. The book provides a detailed, nonfiction look into one of the most famous generals to ever serve the U.S. Military. The book dives deep into the complicated political and mysterious threads that involve the 4 star general’s service in World War II. 

For me the most interesting part of the book was about Patton’s death. It talks about what exactly happened, however it provides the mysteriousness around it. *SPOILER ALERT* As Patton was driving with some military friends to go hunting, a 2 ton army truck driving next to them suddenly veered into Patton’s car. Patton was paralized and the skin from his nose to his forehead was peeled. After a couple days in the hospital, he died. The mysterious part is that this Army truck was not only driven by drunk soldiers, but was not supposed to be there. Furthermore, the drivers disappeared promptly after the crash. The book introduces the idea that this was a political assisanation, because there was not evidence of any federal investigation and nobody was charged at all. 

I really thought it was interesting how the book said that it might have been a political assasignation. However, when I thought about it some more it made sense! Patton was infamous for not caring the slightest about political posture. He had multiple incidents that hurt the armies reputation and really made a lot of people dislike him. For example, one time he was in the medical tent of an army camp, when he saw a soldier without any visible injuries. He asked what his problem was, and the soldier said that he “could not take the shelling anymore.” Then Patton decided to call him a coward and slap him. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was a book that was written in such a way that even though it was nonfiction, you felt as though you were with Patton, and that you were fighting the war with him. The book also really intrigued me when talking about Patton’s death and was overall a really great read. I would strongly recommend this book for anybody who likes to read about World War 2.