I saw the movie long ago. It reflects the public side of Patton. Privately he was an insecure, brilliant and kind man who struggled with his perception of his destiny and fought with dyslexia. Much of the brash, crude behavior in public was an act — the way Patton thought a general was supposed to behave. Even when telling the story of his childhood, the book kept me interested. The military campaigns are covered, but not in so much detail that anyone would be lost. Warning — Patton used quite a bit of crude language and it appears in quotes throughout the book.