WAR As I KNEW IT (425 pp.)General George S. Patton Jr.Houghton Mifflin ($3.75).
ADMIRAL HALSEY'S STORY (310 pp.)Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey and Lieut. Commander J. Bryan IIIWhittlesey ($4).
Admiral Halsey was a kind of seagoing General Patton. Both Halsey and Patton took long, unorthodox chances and won brilliant victories. Both were profane and histrionic commanders. Each stubbed his well-polished boot when he stepped outside his own field of fire. Their books have only this in common: each contains a fairly detailed operations report that historians and experts, armchair and professional, will find required reading. Beyond that, Admiral Halsey's Story is a...