Review of Rescuing General Patton

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Rescuing General Patton" by Curtis Stephen Burdick.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Rescuing General Patton is a historical fiction novel written by Curtis Stephen Burdick. Blending fact with conspiracy-inspired fiction, Burdick weaves a gripping, fast-paced story set in an unforgiving time of war.

During World War II, four Allied soldiers head to the northernmost regions of Sicily to put a stop to the Germans’ retreat. En route to their destination, their jeep is destroyed in a mine explosion, leaving them at the mercy of enemy forces. General George S. Patton, though wounded, quickly takes action, impersonating one of the deceased colonels to protect his identity and the secrets he holds. It is left up to the only other survivor, Corporal Bauer, to return to their base and inform their comrades of the ambush. A secret rescue mission is immediately devised, misleading the public as to the true whereabouts of Patton. With a Gestapo dangerously close to the truth, it is only a matter of time before this ruse is discovered. Will the general be safely returned to Allied territory before his identity is revealed, or will his capture by the Nazis affect the outcome of the war?

I could pinpoint no aspect of this story that I disliked. Though fictional, it reads like the general article. It feels as though you’re experiencing all the stomach-turning acts soldiers have to carry out in the moral murkiness of war. Some of my favourite scenes had to do with how the battlefield promotions took place, when the characters roped in an actor to impersonate Patton, the hostage retrieval team’s navigation of minefields, and how the characters’ true natures were called into question and weighed against their desire for victory.

Rescuing General Patton is a story within a story. I liked how Burdick provided the introductory and ending chapters that circled around John Harding, an author, and his admiration for Patton, setting the stage for the intervening chapters that detailed General Patton’s capture. We feel John Harding’s anticipation and excitement within the first few pages of the book and then a seamless transition to the brutal landscape of war ensues.

Beware the curse words. Emotions run high, lives are at stake, and the victory of the Allied forces hang in the balance. It follows that the soldiers will express themselves in a manner suited for a mature audience. Loss and death are part and parcel of war, so the action scenes also run somewhat bloody. The flipside of this is that the tension and frustration the characters feel are so palpable, one can overlook the carnage to appreciate the evocation of emotion.

I must heap praise on Burdick for deftly creating an engaging, page-turning novel that is virtually free of errors. Reading Rescuing General Patton means falling into a world of beautiful adjectives and vivid imagery, violent though it might be. I saw only a few, minor errors that had to with capitalization. As such, I assume this book had been professionally edited.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Filled with action, strong characters, and a gripping storyline, all narrated with a keen attention to detail, Rescuing General Patton is fully deserving of a perfect rating. I recommend this book to readers who find well-written military fiction entertaining. People who also enjoy conspiracy theories dating back to World War II could also give this book a try. I do not think that people who enjoy factual accounts of war would find this a suitable read.

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Rescuing General Patton
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[kobby95]

War, blood and pain are not what I want to read about, but I appreciate your review all the same as it gives me a snapshot of what to expect in the book. Thanks