Through the years, the breeders themselves changed the name of the dog into Staffordshire bull terrier to differentiate its physique from the English bull terrier.

Of the 20 or so dogs currently residing at the rescue centre, only Tyson, a stocky, scarfaced English bull terrier cross Staffordshire bull terrier, disliked cats enough to try to kill them.

The topics range from Patton's devotion to his wife Beatrice; his lifelong friendship with Harry (Paddy) Flint, a regimental commander who was killed while leading his men in house-to-house fighting; his English bull terrier Willie, whose ferocity never matched his owner's expectations; and Patton's own preparation for the Battle of the Bulge, which according to Hymel, began three weeks before the Germans launched their offensive in the Ardennes on December 16, 1944.