Killing Patton
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| Author | Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard |
|---|---|
| Subject | Death of General George Patton |
| Publisher | Henry Holt and Co. |
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Publication date
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September 23, 2014 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | 978-0805096682 |
Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General is a book written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard about the final year of World War II and the death of General George Patton, specifically about whether or not it was an accident or an assassination. The book is the followup to Killing Kennedy, Killing Lincoln, and Killing Jesus and was published in September 2014 [1][2] through Henry Holt and Company.
Reception
Writing in The Washington Post, Richard Cohen criticized the book's "chaotic structure" and "considerable padding," calling the work a "clunky hagiography." Cohen was especially critical of O'Reilly's "repellent admiration" for Patton in light of his demonstrable anti-Semitism.[3][4] In The New Republic, James Wolcott dismissed the book as O'Reilly's "latest papier-mâché exercise in necrobiography."[5] Patton biographer and documentary filmmaker Robert Orlando described Killing Patton and O'Reilly's "Killing" series as "not about new or penetrating discovery, but the same ol' same ol' only through this greatly successful marketer and his hired writer—a scheduled feeding for an audience already 'on the farm.'"[6]
Wes Vernon of The Washington Times remarked that “Killing Patton is rich in blow-by-blow accounts of some of the most significant battles of World War II, as well as of many off-battlefield lives of its primary movers whose personalities virtually come to life in this well-crafted narrative."[7]
Writing for The Amazon Book Review, Senator John McCain opined that the book was "[...] rich in fascinating details, and riveting battle scenes."[8]
Many historians have criticized O'Reilly's claim that Patton was assassinated and pointed out that he presented no hard evidence that there was foul play involved in Patton's death. Some have speculated that O'Reilly and Dugard got the idea for this hypothesis from the 1978 movie Brass Target that portrayed the General's death as an assassination. However, it should be pointed out that the movie was only fiction.[9][10]
Adaptation
On November 24, 2015, National Geographic Channel and Scott Free Productions jointly announced the television adaptation of Killing Patton. Anthony Peckham is attached to write the four-hour teleplay, with plans to air the film in 2016.[11]
References
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