Carlo D'Este
Carlo D'Este (1936 – November 22, 2020) was an American military historian and biographer, author of several books, especially on World War II. He was a decorated U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. In 2011, he was awarded the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.[4][5]
Carlo W. D'Este | |
---|---|
Born | 1936 (age 84–85) |
Died | |
Nationality | United States |
Education | New Mexico Military Institute junior college, 1956 Norwich University magna cum laude, 1958 University of Richmond masters, 1974 |
Occupation | Military historian Biographer Military officer |
Title | Lieutenant Colonel, USA (Ret.) |
Spouse(s) | Shirley |
Children | four (and six grandchildren) |
Notes | |
Education
D'Este received his B.A. from Norwich University in 1958, an M.A. from the University of Richmond in 1974, and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Norwich in 1992.
- New Mexico Military Institute junior college, 1956
- Norwich University (magna cum laude), 1958
- University of Richmond masters, 1974
- University of London under the G.I. bill[3]
Career and other work
- Military historian and biographer, 1978–present
- Member of Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee
- Honorary member, Board of Fellows of Norwich University[6]
- President of the Friends of Norwich Library[7]
- Elected trustee of Mashpee Public Library, Mashpee, Massachusetts[8] for 21 years[9]
- United States Army, tours of duty in Germany and Vietnam, retired as lieutenant colonel, 1978.
- Lecturer at School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College
- Founded (with W.E.B. Griffin) the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium[10] (1996). That organization presents the Colby Award.[11]
- Advised President of the United States Bill Clinton on his visit to Italy, England, and Normandy (1994)
Influences on
D'Este listed his three favorite military historians and influences as: Barbara Tuchman (The Guns of August), John Eisenhower (The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge), and Martin Blumenson (general George S. Patton’s official biographer).[7]
A&E adapted his biography of George S. Patton to television for its Biography (TV series) (and, presumably, its Biography Channel) in 1995. In 1996, C-SPAN interviewed him about that book on its Booknotes program.
Awards and honors
He was awarded the Andrew J. Goodpaster Prize by the American Veterans Center, 2010.[12]
He delivered the annual Kemper Lecture on Winston Churchill at Westminster, College, Fulton, Missouri, 2010.
In 2011, he received the $100,000 Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.[13][14] The award includes an honorarium, citation and medallion, sponsored by the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation.[15] As part of the award, he gave an interview at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on October 21, 2011, reflecting on his writing career in the field of World War II scholarship.
Writings
- Decision in Normandy: The Unwritten Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign, Dutton (New York, NY), 1983. ISBN 9780060924959
- Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943, Dutton (New York, NY), 1988. ISBN 9780525244714
- World War II in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945, Algonquin (Chapel Hill, NC), 1990. ISBN 9780945575047
- Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991. ISBN 9780060158903
- Patton: A Genius for War, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995. ISBN 9780060164553
- Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life, 1890–1945, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2002. ISBN 9780805056860
- Warlord : a life of Winston Churchill at war, 1874–1945 (1st ed.). New York City, New York: HarperCollins. November 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-057573-1. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- (introduction to) "Sicilia 1943. Lo sbarco alleato" by Ezio Costanzo[16] (author), Le Nove Muse Editrice (Catania, Italy), 2003
- (introduction to) Battle, the Story of the Bulge, John Toland, Random House (New York, NY), 1959
- (contributor to) Few Returned: Twenty-eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942–1943, edited by Eugenio Corti, University of Missouri Press (Columbia, MO), 1997.
- D'Este, Carlo (July 25, 2004). "Warsaw Will Be Liquidated". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-28. Review of Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw, by Norman Davies.
Decorations
- Hall of Fame, New Mexico Military Institute, 2002
- Norwich University, D.H.L., 1992
- Board of Fellows Service Medallion, Norwich University, 2008[17]
Legion of Merit | |
Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster[18] | |
Meritorious Service Medal | |
Army Commendation Medal |
References
- Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Updated September 24, 2003. Document Number: H1000121713.
- "Carlo D'Este". LibraryThing (Tim Spalding). Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- Surabian, Carol (19 February 2007). "NEW SEABURY NOTABLES: An Interview with Carlo D'Este, Distinguished Military Historian" (PDF). Mashpee, Massachusetts: The Peninsula Council, Inc. (The Homeowners Association of New Seabury). Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- "Eisenhower with Carlo D'Este". Washington Post. 30 May 2002. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- Chambers II, John Whiteclay (November 26, 2008). "The Soldier Who Emerged as Statesman – review of WARLORD, A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945". p. C02.
Carlo D'Este, a retired U.S. Army colonel with a distinguished record as a military historian and a biographer of Patton and Eisenhower, now provides us with a very human look at Churchill's lifelong fascination with soldiering, war and command. This well-researched, balanced and highly readable narrative covers Churchill's military-related life, from his birth in 1874 through the end of World War II.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-11-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
-
Brucken, Lisa (October 24, 2008). "Noted historian and author Carlo D'Este recalls rigors of NU education: News: Norwich University". Norwich University Office of Communications. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
...favorite military historians and influences: Barbara Tuchman, author of Guns of August; John S.D. Eisenhower, author of The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge; and Martin Blumenson, who was Gen. George S. Patton’s official biographer.
- Surabian, Carol (19 February 2007). "NEW SEABURY NOTABLES: An Interview with Carlo D'Este, Distinguished Military Historian" (PDF). Mashpee, Massachusetts: The Peninsula Council, Inc. (The Homeowners Association of New Seabury). Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- "Carlo D'Este, Confident In Mashpee Library's Future, Steps Aside As Trustee".
- (PDF). 27 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090327113914/http://colbysymposium.org/pdf/twicedArmedColby.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Missing or empty
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(help) - ""Twice Armed" Wins 2008 Colby Award" (PDF). February 6, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- "Andrew J. Goodpaster Prize and Lecture – American Veterans Center". www.americanveteranscenter.org.
- $100,000 Award to be Presented at October 22, 2011 Gala in Chicago Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Pritzker Military Library.
- Courtney Crowder (June 21, 2011). "Historian wins $100,000 Pritzker literary prize". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- Pritzker Military Museum & Library's Announcement of Award on June 21, 2011
- http://www.eziocostanzo.it
- "Norwich University – Homecoming 2008". Norwich University Alumni Office. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
- "Eisenhower With Carlo D'Este Author". The Washington Post. May 30, 2002. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
D'Este is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who has been awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal and Commendation Medal.
Further reading about D'Este
- American Historical Review, October 1992, Alan F. Wilt, review of Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome, pp. 1304–1305.
- Book, July–August, 2002, Philip Gerard, "A Gentleman and an Officer: Before Dwight Eisenhower Became a National Hero, He Was a Little-Known Soldier, " p. 26.
- Booklist, May 1, 2002, Gilbert Taylor, review of Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life, 1890–1945, p. 1489.
- Choice, December 1990, P. L. De Rosa, review of World War II in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945, p. 683.
- Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2002, review of Eisenhower, p. 632.
- Fraser, David London Review of Books, Vol 5 No 24, December 22, 1983, "Montgomeries" pp. 7–8 (a review of Decision in Normandy: The Unwritten Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign - subscription required for full access)
- London Review of Books, May 26, 1994, review of Decision in Normandy, p. 3.
- National Review, August 12, 2002, Victor Davis Hanson, "Soldier of Contrasts, " p. 49.
- The New York Times, September 8, 1988, review of Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943, p. C21.
- The New York Times Book Review, January 22, 1984, review of Decision in Normandy, p. 10
- New York Times Book Review, November 27, 1988, Walter Lord, review of Bitter Victory, p. 18
- New York Times Book Review, July 21, 1991, review of Fatal Decision
- New York Times Book Review, p. 27; December 10, 1995, Alistair Horne, review of Patton: A Genius for War
- New York Times Book Review, pp. 9, 11; July 28, 2002, Timothy Naftali, "The Hardest Job in the Longest Day, " p. 8.
- Publishers Weekly, October 14, 1983, review of Decision in Normandy, p. 51
- Publishers Weekly, July 1, 1988, review of Bitter Victory, pp. 61–62
- Publishers Weekly, April 12, 1991, review of Fatal Decision, p. 51
- Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002, review of Eisenhower, p. 49.
- Times Literary Supplement, September 16, 1988, Michael Carver, review of Bitter Victory, p. 1022
- Times Literary Supplement, September 6, 1991, Michael Howard, review of Fatal Decision, pp. 11–12
- Times Literary Supplement, June 10, 1994, review of Decision in Normandy, p. 33.
- The Wall Street Journal, December 8, 1995, Mark Yost, review of Patton, p. A10
- The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2002, Max Boot, "Less to Like about Ike, " p. W12.*
External links
- Carlo D'Este from HarperCollins Publishers Publisher's biographic sketch
- Patton, Harper Perennial, Carlo D'este, Book - Barnes & Noble Bookseller's biographical sketch
- Carlo D'Este Interview and biography at The Pritzker Military Museum & Library from February 8, 2007
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Interview on Warlord: a life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945 at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on November 13, 2008
- Webcast Panel on U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower with Geoffrey Perret at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on October 23, 2003