Carlo D'Este

American military historian (1936–2020)

Carlo Winthrop D'Este (August 29, 1936 – November 22, 2020)^[3] 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] D'Este died at age 84 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.^[6]

Education

D'Este attended New Mexico Military Institute junior college in 1956. He received his B.A. (magna cum laude) 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. He received his master's from University of Richmond in 1974 and then attended University of London under the G.I. bill.

Career and other work

• Military historian and biographer, 1978–2020
• Member of Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee
• Honorary member, Board of Fellows of Norwich University^[7]
• President of the Friends of Norwich Library^[8]
• Elected trustee of Mashpee Public Library, Mashpee, Massachusetts 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), which presents the Colby Award.^[11]
• Advised President of the United States Bill Clinton on his visit to Italy, England, and Normandy (1994)

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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]

References

1. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. Updated September 24, 2003. Document Number: H1000121713.
2. "Carlo D'Este". LibraryThing (Tim Spalding). Retrieved 2008-11-26.
3. Obituary, capecodtimes.com. Accessed March 11, 2024.
4. "Eisenhower with Carlo D'Este". Washington Post. May 30, 2002. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
5. 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.
6. "Obituaries in Hyannis, MA | Cape Cod Times". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
7. "Board of Fellows: About: Norwich University". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
8. 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.
9. "Carlo D'Este, Confident In Mashpee Library's Future, Steps Aside As Trustee". May 19, 2017.
10. "William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium" (PDF). March 27, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009.
11. ""Twice Armed" Wins 2008 Colby Award" (PDF). February 6, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
12. "Andrew J. Goodpaster Prize and Lecture – American Veterans Center". www.americanveteranscenter.org.
13. $100,000 Award to be Presented at October 22, 2011 Gala in Chicago Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Pritzker Military Library.
14. Courtney Crowder (June 21, 2011). "Historian wins $100,000 Pritzker literary prize". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
15. Pritzker Military Museum & Library's Announcement of Award on June 21, 2011
16. "Home". eziocostanzo.it.
17. "Norwich University – Homecoming 2008". Norwich University Alumni Office. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
18. "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

• 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
  • In Depth interview with D'Este, July 6, 2003
• 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.