Great story of another of the great generals that people had a love/hate attitude about!! This is MONTY: THE MAKING OF A GENERAL. This 457 page Book Club Edition  hardback by Nigel Hamilton, the first of three books he  wrote about Montgomery, was published in 1981. Monty, or Bernard, as Hamilton refers to him was paranoid maybe even schizophrenic but was one of the best senior field commanders that the Allies had during WW2. His mental attributes were a likely result from the union of his muzzy minded liberal bishop father and his stern fault finding mother. He was arrogant, mean spirited and utterly ruthless in sacking or managing the transfer of the many incompetents that filled the British officer corps at the start of the war. Monty manipulated shamelessly to get and keep the best of many bad lots as his staff and commanders, Balancing these useful but unpleasant traits, he truly revered and supported the common soldier and worked diligently to ensure their well being.

Montgomery developed rigorous training schedules based upon expected battle scenarios and was not promoted to serious field command until Churchill ran out of other options. Churchill was a great political leader but his frequent and not often successful forays into command choices and tactical decisions seriously compromised British military success at the beginning of the war. The BEF, Singapore, and his early CIGS selections were a string of disasters that he and GB barely survived. Hamilton documents Montgomery's rise to command meticulously and extensively with many detailed operational and battle reports. Monty was not a nice person, neither was Patton but they won battles with low casualty rates; capabilities not often found in most Allied generals. Great reading in this book in very good condition. Just some light wear on DJ edges. Shipping and handling 4.80 Media Mail to US destinations. Canadian residents 23.40 First Class mail. All others welcome but extra postage required and shipped entirely at your risk.