Carlo Winthrop D'Este (August 29, 1936 – November 22, 2020) was an American

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

and

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

of several books, especially on

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a decorated U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. In 2011, he was awarded the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. D'Este died at age 84 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Education

D'Este attended

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

in 1956. He received his B.A. (

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

) from

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

in 1958, an M.A. from the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

in 1974, and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Norwich in 1992. He received his

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

in 1974 and then attended

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

under the

G.I. bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

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 *President of the Friends of Norwich Library *Elected trustee of Mashpee

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Mashpee, Massachusetts Mashpee ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mas ...

for 21 years *United States Army, tours of duty in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, retired as lieutenant colonel, 1978. *Lecturer at School of Advanced Military Studies,

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

*Founded (with W.E.B. Griffin) the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium (1996), which presents the Colby Award. *Advised

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on his visit to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

(1994)

Awards and honors

He was awarded the Andrew J. Goodpaster Prize by the American Veterans Center, 2010. He delivered the annual Kemper Lecture on Winston Churchill at Westminster College,

Fulton, Missouri Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about northeast of Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City and the Missouri River and east of Columbia, Missouri, ...

, 2010. In 2011, he received the $100,000 Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The award includes an honorarium, citation and medallion. It is sponsored by the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation. As part of the award, he gave an interview at the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

), 1983. *''Bitter Victory: The Battle for

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, 1943'', Dutton (New York, NY), 1988. *''World War II in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945'', Algonquin (Chapel Hill, NC), 1990. *''Fatal Decision:

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

and the Battle for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

(New York, NY), 1991. *''Patton: A Genius for War'', HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995. *''Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life, 1890–1945'', Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2002. * *(introduction to) "Sicilia 1943. Lo sbarco alleato" by Ezio Costanzo (author), Le Nove Muse Editrice (Catania, Italy), 2003 *(introduction to) ''Battle, the Story of the Bulge'', John Toland,

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

(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 The University of Missouri Press is a university press operated by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and London, England; it was founded in 1958 primarily through the efforts of English professor William Peden. Many publications ...

( Columbia, MO), 1997. * Review of Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw, by

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Profes ...

Decorations

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

, New Mexico Military Institute, 2002 *Norwich University, D.H.L., 1992 *Board of Fellows Service Medallion, Norwich University, 2008

References

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

from February 8, 2007 *
''In Depth'' interview with D'Este, July 6, 2003

Interview
on ''Warlord: a life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945'' at the

on November 13, 2008
Webcast Panel
on U.S. General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

with Geoffrey Perret at the

on October 23, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Este, Carlo 1936 births 2020 deaths Writers from Oakland, California New Mexico Military Institute alumni Norwich University alumni Alumni of the University of London University of Richmond alumni American biographers American male biographers American military historians American historians of World War II United States Army officers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Historians from California Military personnel from California 20th-century United States Army personnel United States Army Command and General Staff College faculty