Patton's Library

The following was kindly provided by Captain T.W. Forrest of the D.C. Army National Guard.

Suggestions for 
Professional Officer Development Readings 
Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

As soldiers it is our duty to continue are professional development by reading.  General George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945), was known for his study and reading of military history.  In 1952,  his widow, Beatrice Patton, provided a list of his favorite books for an issue of Armor magazine (Patton, Beatrice Ayer, "A Soldier's Reading," Armor 61 (November-December 1952, pp. 10-11).  I provide it to you for your professional development:

Maxims of Frederick the Great
Maxims of Napoleon, and all the authoritative military biographies of Napoleon
Commentaries, Julius Caesar
Treatises by von Treitchke, and von Clausewitz
Memoirs of General the Baron de Marbot, and de Fezansec, a colonel under Napoleon
Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, Creasy
Charles XII of Sweden, Klingspor
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vols 1, 2, 3) (Vols 4, 5, 6), Gibbon
Strategicon, Marcus and Spaulding
The Prince , Machiavelli
The Crowd, Le Bon
A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages, Oman
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History,, Mahan
Stonewall Jackson, Henderson
Memoirs of U. S. Grant, and those of McClellan
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, R. E. Lee, and Lee's Lieutenants, Freeman
Years of Victory and Years of Endurance, Bryant
Gallipoli, Hamilton
Thucydides' Military History of Greece
Memoirs of Ludendorff, von Hindenburg and Foch
Genghis Khan, Alexander, Lamb
Alexander, Weigall
The Home Book of Verse
Anything by Winston Churchill
Kipling, complete
Anything by Liddle Hart
Anything by J. F. C. Fuller, especially 'Generalship: Its Diseases and Their Cure'

She also explained that during WW II, Patton read about the areas in which he fought and for an understanding of tactics.  For example:

The Normans in Sicily, Knight
The Greatest Norman Conquest, Osborne
The History of the Norman Conquest of England, five volumes by Freeman
Caesar's Gallic War
Infantry Attacks, Rommel

For further study in the importance of professional reading and how it can shape a soldier I recommend the following:

Dietrich, Steve E. "The Professional Reading of General George S. Patton, Jr."  Journal of Military History 53 (October 1989)
 Nye, Roger H., The Patton Mind:  The Professional Development of an Extraordinary Leader.  Garden City, N.Y.:  Avery Publishing Group, Inc., 1993.
 _____, "Whence Patton's Military Genius?" Parameters 21 (Winter 1991-92),  pp. 60-73.