Based on the real-life exploits of the British special forces Long Range Desert Group during World War II, Killing Rommel pits this elite group against the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.

Author Steven Pressfield brings this narration to life. Set to the point of view of a young lieutenant, he mixes historical facts, real events and even real people into this work of fiction. Pressfield's dynamic ability to blend a story into the facts of real history is masterly.

Lt. Chapman enters the book as a tank officer in the 22nd Armoured Bridgade, 7th Armoured Division commanding a reconnaissance troop of 4 tanks. The tale develops his role into the Long Range Desert Group, his training, wartime marriage, and many exploits up through the end of the Africa campaign. Their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte-Not by Strength, by Guile.

While Rommel is not actually killed in Africa, the act of supreme courage and daring by the allied forces who defeated the 'Desert Fox' in Africa signaled an end to German supremacy.

Steven Pressfield's other works include other historical novels Gates of Fire, Last of the Amazons, The Afghan Campaign, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and The Art of War.

Full Synopsis of Killing Rommel

Steven Pressfield's quintet of acclaimed, bestselling novels of ancient warfare- Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Virtues of War, and The Afghan Campaign- have earned him a reputation as a master chronicler of military history, a supremely literate and engaging storyteller, and an author with acute insight into the minds of men in battle. In Killing Rommel Pressfield extends his talents to the modern world with a WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox."

Autumn 1942. Hitler's legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan-send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte-Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specializedskills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this "band of brothers" as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies' victory in North Africa.

As in all of his previous novels, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield. A vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war, Killing Rommel brilliantly dramatizes an aspect of World War II that hasn't been in the limelight since Patton. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, this galvanizing novel heralds Pressfield's gift for bringing more recent history to life.