My new friend, Vito from the 36th Combat Engineers, sent me letter today with information regarding the book,
Discovering the Rommel Murder - The Life and Death of the Desert Fox
by Charles F Marshall
Here are some editorial reviews:
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The circumstances of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's suicide, forced on him by Adolf Hitler in October 1944 for his complicity in the attempt to assassinate the Fuhrer that previous July, are familiar. Less known are the details of how Marshall, then an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, discovered and publicized that story after the war's end. His book is partly a conventional, sympathetic biography of Rommel; it is also an interesting and useful memoir of Marshall's techniques in persuading Rommel's family and associates to talk about the Third Reich at a time when most Germans kept silent about the war. Marshall helped to recover information of historical significance that would otherwise have been lost. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Marshall claims to have broken the news to the world in 1945 that Rommel had not died of wounds, as claimed by Nazi propaganda, but had been forced to commit suicide. Marshall was the G-2 intelligence officer who first interviewed Rommel's widow. He originally wrote manuscript in 1945-46, but it was lost until now. While probably significant in 1946, this book suffers from trying to pull together the recollections of a 40-year-old story. Because there are no notes or bibliography, the reader has to take Marshall's word for events and conversations that happened long ago. One unexpected bonus is the final few chapters, which give an interesting account of life in occupied Germany at the conclusion of the war. Libraries with strong World War II collections may wish to purchase this, but most would be better off with David Fraser's Knight's Cross: A Life of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (HarperCollins, 1993).
Randall L. Schroeder, Augustana Coll. Lib., Rock Island, Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's heroic opposition to Hitler in 1944 cost him his life. In this intriguing, well-paced tale of a journalistic coup, Marshall, the first to discover the real events behind Rommel's death, tells how he learned the facts from Rommel's widow and delves into the great general's background and death. He arrived at his conclusions based on his intimate knowledge of men on Rommel's staff and his access to Rommel's papers, including letters from the general to his wife. Here, for the first time in paperback, is the exciting story of how the world learned about the way the "Desert Fox" met his death. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Charles F. Marshall graduated from Columbia University, the U.S. Army's Armored Force Officer Candidate School, and its Military Intelligence School. He served as a captain in the Military Intelligence Service of the U.S. Army during World War II and was decorated for his rapid exploitation of captured enemy maps, field orders, and pertinent documents. At the war's end, he supervised interrogation in POW, internment, and war crime camps. Now retired, he lives with his wife in Douglastown, New York. --This text refers to the Paperback edition
You can purchase this book from such places as Amazon.com or use the info below to receive an autographed first edition copy. Send $19.95 to (includes postage & handling):
Charles F Marshall
5 Laurel Lane
Holtsville, NY 11742