A thrilling WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long
Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on
the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel, "the Desert Fox."
Autumn 1942. Hitler's legions have swept across Europe; France has
fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North
Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and
stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle
East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British
hatch a desperate plan--send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed
force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika
Korps in its tracks.
Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel
brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary
secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the
scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non
Vi Sed Arte--Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence,
set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the
tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under
extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this "band
of brothers" as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to
the Allies' victory in North Africa.
Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable
narrative momentum, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and
intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the
surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the
battlefield to create a vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert
war.
