Rommel

Leadership Lessons from the Desert Fox

By: Charles Messenger

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Modeled on the acclaimed Great Generals Series, which features the strategy and legacy of famous American generals, World Generals broadens the scope to include the world’s finest military leaders. Each volume includes a foreword by General Wesley K. Clark and is coedited with an afterword by a different foreign general.

This exciting series opens with “the Desert Fox”, the most famous German field marshal in World War II, Erwin Rommel. A hero of the people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at blitzkrieg warfare. He consistently outwitted his adversaries in both France and North Africa through his ability to sense the weak spot in his enemy’s deployment and by the pace at which he conducted his operations. Rommel was seriously wounded in France just three days before the aborted attempt on Hitler’s life. Rommel subsequently came under suspicion of being involved in the plot and, under pressure, committed suicide. Rommel displayed an outstanding ability to seize the initiative and retain it, and here, Charles Messenger draws on the skills behind this ability for the benefit of modern-day leaders.

Charles Messenger served for 20 years as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment before becoming a full-time military historian and defense analyst. He is the author of nearly 40 books, including The Blitzkrieg Story. He lives in London.

©2009 Charles Messenger (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Charles Messenger tells the story of Germany’s most famous field marshal with a verve and brio reminiscent of his subject. Anyone seeking a concise account of Rommel’s remarkable life and career need look no further.” (Roger Moorhouse, author of Killing Hitler)

Historically well done

This is the first audible book where I had to slow down the narrator so that I could grasp the full flavor of what the author was presenting.

Very Generalized

I enjoyed the backstory but some of the stories conflict with other books I've read.

Good

This book gave me a much greater understanding of Rommel and the campaigns he fought in throughout his career.

Disappointing

If you are only interested in how Rommel thought tactically, you may enjoy it. No insight into him as a human being. His death was no more than a paragraph. Narrator has a good voice, but it seemed like he was reading one long sentence

Rommel Life Story

was hoping this would be more on his leadership skills and lessons learned but it's more about his life
it was well read and written

Good Read

I enjoyed it and came away knowing a lot that I didn't know before. It gets a bit dry in parts with all the details of troop movements and battles but its still a good read. The subtitle fits the book perfectly as it seems to focus primarily on his leadership style; he was a lot like Patton. I recommend it to anyone who loves military history and/or WW2 history.

Book is so-so, similar to a history textbook

The reader is monotone and a bit robotic, so it drones on. The content is robust with dates, names, cities, and full of specific details that detract from listening and make it feel like a map or textbook is needed to understand the context. The “lessons” are there, but not spelled out overly explicit for the reader, so not having the context hurts the value/enjoyment. Highly recommended skipping to chapter 9 before starting…it’s a recap of the entire book in only 1 chapter.

More summary than analysis

My first Rommel book. I love history but I’m no historian. I would say this is a very good summary of his exploits but shorter on insight or analysis of his leadership strategy than I expected. Sentence structure is a bit short so it listens a bit like machine gun fire. Maybe that’s appropriate. Still overall good experience

Brilliant content & narration

What might have been a dry read on my own became electric & riveting through the brilliant narration. I listened to this book in it's entirty from the foreward by General Clark to the afterward. Highly recommended.

Very enjoyable

This is a great overview of Rommel and the successes and challenges that he faced. It certainly added to the admiration that I already had for him. It’s truly a shame that he fell victim to Hitler’s distrust after the attempted assassination of Hitler. I recommend to anyone fascinated with history or Rommel to read or listen to this book.