Patton: A Biography by Alan Axelrod, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, , $ None too surprisingly, when Palgrave Macmillan launched a “Great Generals Series” of short biographies, number one on its list of subjects was George S. Patton Jr., who in spite of the impolitic acts and statements that denied him the seniority he craved, still managed to become one of the most influential.