PATTON a genius for war

General George S. Patton was a walking, talking, fighting machine whose personality was bigger and noisier than one of his Sherman tanks.He was tough. He was vain. He was brilliant. And in a world gone mad with war, he was our greatest field commander. His slashing armored columns dismembered the panzers of Hitler's "Thousand Year Reich" with matchless thunder and dash. Passionate and arrogant, he slapped soldiers and cried over them; he was vilified and deified. But when it came time for the bloody business of war, George Patton had no peers. This revealing profile takes a look at the complex personality of the man who struck fear into Nazi generals and left Allied superiors questioning his sanity. March into battle with George S. Patton, a man who lived and died a warrior.

A&E's popular "Biography" series makes a successful transition to the audiobook format in these four new releases. Each audiobook is narrated by Jack Perkins and features interviews, music, and, where applicable, archived clips of the subject. Each biography offers a careful examination of the subject's life as well as a historical account of the times during which each person lived. In comparing the video and audiobook versions of Jesus: His Life, it is evident that A&E has not merely released the soundtrack of the TV episode on audiocassette. For instance, in the video version, when a historian is interviewed, his or her name, affiliation, and title are shown on the screen. In the audio version, Perkins relays this information. Also not included in the audio release are the long musical segments that are accompanied on TV by a series of visual images. All such revisions to the soundtrack are smoothly done, resulting in a high-quality production. Music and sound effects add atmosphere, especially the haunting music featured in the Nostradamus biography and the battle sound effects on the Patton tape. Audio clips of President Truman are very effectively incorporated here, especially his announcement of the bombing of Japan. These productions are highly recommended for all biography collections.?Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

General George Patton is one of the individuals profiled in a new audiobooks series, Biography, adapted from A & E Television Networks. The others, Nostradamus, Harry S. Truman and Jesus, are also the subjects for this interesting series. These are original audio programs made to inform and entertain--they make no pretense about being literature or having book-based origins. In the tradition of Ken Burns's THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL, these biographies draw a picture with timelines, quotations, and recollections from authors and acquaintances. Patton begins with his family tree and the military ancestry that instilled his sense of destiny. Jack Perkins, host from the television series, guides listeners through the program. Several men who served with Patton, as well as historians, add to the mix of voices chronicling his rise through the military to his triumph as commander of the 3rd Army in 1944. The program is very effective, much like a TV documentary, but without the visual effects listeners concentrate more on the events and reflections. Listeners should note the careful attention paid to the production: Restraint with sound effects and equalization of the various voices are particularly important for listening in cars. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine