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An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy by: Rick Atkinson |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5423 EAN: 9780805062885 ISBN: 0805062882 Label: Henry Holt & Company Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 704 Publication Date: 2002-10 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company Studio: Henry Holt & Company Sales Rank: 781009 Related Items:
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 Rating:  - The Army At Dawn Grows"An Army At Dawn" tells the of the American Army from its first taste of battle in Operation Torch, the Invasion of French North Africa, through the closing of the Tunisian campaign. Author Rick Atkinson does an excellent job of blending the stories of individual soldiers and actions with the big picture of generals and theatre-wide implications. The rivalries between the Americans, French and British are given fair play. The theme of this book is that the American Army which went ashore in Operation Torch was not fit for heavy combat. From General Eisenhower on down to the privates, it had lessons to learn which were better learned against French and Italians than Germans. Through adversity the army learned to hate and to fight, ... Read More: Rating:  - america saves all again just to confirm that uncle sam saved the free world again with little regard to their allies efforts ,this is a view of ww2 through an american periscope without the broader picture but thats not new as we all know the world revolves around the usa please discuss ther are better publications which give a more balanced view of this thearte of ww2 Rating:  - AppallingWithout a doubt the worst book on the North African invasion. Whilst he shows an aptitude for combing 1st person accounts with a steady paced strategic narrative Atkinson is no military historian and his inability to describe engagements in anything other than the immature hyperbole so beloved of the journalist historian is frankly embarrasing. Under the impression that World War Two starts with the American landings, the author fails to balance his baleful ignorance with anything new leaving a book notable only for the length of the notes and sources (100 pages - wonder how many he actually read) The only book I have ever thrown away (actually used it to light the BBQ, so it served some purpose) A wanabe Ambrose ... Read More: Rating: - Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and deservedly soWorld War II has always held a fascination for me: the global scale, the impact on world politics and powers of today, the coming of Age of the United States as a super power, the thoughts of what could have been had certain decisions or battles gone one way or the other (see Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle or many of the other alternative history novels to get your imagination going). Over the years, I have read many books, including the great John Keegan's, Cornelius Ryan's and a 25 volume Encyclopedia of WWII that my mom got me for Christmas as a kid (no, I am not kidding). I received The Day of Battle (the 2nd in Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy) as an ARC at BEA, but wanted to read the series in order. I am very glad ... Read More: Rating:  - Partial yet honestI bought this book expecting a full account of the entire WW2 North African campaign - but it is in fact an (addmiitedly hugely detailed) account of TORCH - the Western bit of the campaign, and so the 8th Army, Montgomery, El Alamein and all that stuff is totally missed, except when they combine with the (largely American) forces pushing eastwards under Eisenhower to Tunisia. The detail of the many battles, for hills, villages and towns, is impressive, and it certainly gave me insight into a part of the war I had little knowledge about, but (and it is a big "but") it's strengths are then undermined by it's (almost) "American-only" perspective, and to a lesser extent by the relatively few detailed personal accounts it includes. Whilst ... Read More: |
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