This magnificent biography by the world's foremost expert on the life of George S. Patton portrays the many faces of the general with uncompromising insight: the gruff, demanding public front known (and feared) by millions; the sensitive, intellectual visage shown to intimates; and the self-conscious, emotional, religious man only a handful of people ever met. Martin Blumenson deftly explores the life of this American hero, a paradoxical man who inspired others to greatness but who sometimes questioned the greatness within himself. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945 is a dramatic and memorable portrait of a complex American hero, a man called "the greatest combat general of modern times."

ALAN AXELROD is the author of numerous books on history, business, and management. He has been a creative consultant to such television documentaries and series as The Wild West and Civil War Journal for the Discovery Channel. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.