There's a short Kirkus review for this book: 'There may be other yarns about jeeps in the offing, but this is the first I've seen and I thought it was fun. It is a story of a very particular jeep, whose name was changed from Dorothea to Jezebel, and who proceeded to earn the title, in the best sense, and to win her pie to a new allegiance. Adventures in North Africa ring true. I wonder whether the author, now a Major, speaks from experience?'
He did. Back then, they didn't have Wikipedia. He served in North Africa during World War II. When did he find the time to write a book published in 1944? Wikipedia has no answer. 'Fairfax Davis Downey was born in 1893 and died in 1990. He was a writer and military historian (he also wrote historical novels for juveniles). He graduated from Yale, where he was an editor of campus humor magazine The Yale Record. After college, he served in the U.S. Army as a captain of the 12th Field Artillery in World War I. He was a recipient of the Silver Star for gallantry during the Battle of Belleau Wood. During the Second World War he served in North Africa, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. I'm guessing he knew John J. McCloy from military service. McCloy was Assistant Secretary of War during World War I.