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Summary: Great read!
Review: This is a well written, exciting presentation of America's first steps in WWII (European theatre). No matter what your background, whether you have a casual interest in history or are a genuine enthusiast you will enjoy this book.
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Summary: Military History at it's best! Can't wait for the Trilogy!
Review: In the tradition of John Toland and Cornelius Ryan, Rick Atkinson serves up a well written, easy to follow, tour de force about The North African Campaign in late 1942 and the first half of 1943. Book after book comes out about D-Day and The Bulge, so it was a real joy to dig into this relatively ignored part of America's World War Two saga. From the very first page, fragrant descriptive prose flows on for page after page. The book strikes a great balance between techical tactical battle descriptions and simplified pop history. Whether it is the labyrinth of Vichy politics, the greeness of Ike and the American Army or the Brit's skepticism of our fighting abilities, all of it comes through in vivid color. This book does what a great book should do;it makes the reader want to read more by the author and more on the subject. This is the first installment on the Liberation trilogy. The only drawback is the next volume is not due out for a few years! I can't recommend any book more highly than this!
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Summary: Birth of an army
Review: This extremely well-written book covers the U.S. Army in North Africa, from Operation TORCH through the final battle in Tunisia. We see how a very green group of men and boys finally came together as an effective fighting force, overcoming early disasters and learning "on the run", so to speak. Reading this book was a very personal experience for me, because my father was in this theater of operations from the beginning, landing with the first troops of TORCH, and going on from there until the end in Africa. In fact, the tank destroyer he was driving was demolished in the battle of Kasserine Pass, but he lived to fight on another day, and saw the war through all the way into Central Europe with Patton. The North African theater of operations is often overlooked by historians of the war, as a mere prelude to the action in Europe, but, as this book ably recounts, without the experience gained there the army might not have been as effective later in the war. Tactics were honed, experience was gained, and leadership qualities came out (or not) in the case of the higher ranks. People may have considered this series of battles a mere "sideshow", but it matured the army, and enabled it to go on to its future triumphs. Read this book and see the bravery exhibited by these young people, often only weeks away from home and country, and you will be proud to be their descendants and legatees.
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Summary: Another big piece in the puzzle.
Review: The book sheds light on the front that has most often been disregarded in histories of the European action in WWII, that is, North Africa. [of course it is part of the Euro campaign because it was designed to secure the rear for the invasion of Sicily] The author writes well enough, almost prosaically at times, and does an admirable job describing the allied armies' first real joint action. How vital it was and what a baptism of fire it was for the Americans is clear. After Operation Torch, the author points out, America would never again be the "junior partner" in any war planning with the British. Overall, this is a very worthwhile read.
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Summary: A little glib
Review: Rick, I thought your other two books were wonderful. "Long Gray Line," was truly brilliant. This one is a little glib. I understand that you try to show the intial landings near Oran were as if the Keystone Cops were doing the planning. But interspersed in the descriptions of endless bungling, there are descriptions of soldiers getting their legs shot off, being killed etc. It just seemed a little glib. Also, some of the descriptions get into minutia that's not needed. I understand you want to show the soldiers point of view, but some of the vignettes make the text drag. Have a point to the small stories. Still a good book, but make the next two in your trilogy flow a little better and don't be so glib about death and dismemberment.
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Summary: An illuminating and extremely readable history
Review: Having never studied the North African Camapign in depth I found Rick Atkinson's book extremely illuminating. This is a well researched work that is able to describe at once the shifting strategic and grand tactical environments that defined the campaign and the gritty reality faced by combat soldiers as a result. All this in a very readable style that is as engrossing as it is informative. This is a very transparent history and examines the triumphs, tragedies, strengths and all too evident weaknesses that afflicted the allied armies. Atkinson is unsparing in both praise and criticism which ultimatley reveals that even the greatest of historical icons is ultimately all too human. His accounts of the double-dealing and machinations of the French are particularly insightful as are the illustration of the woeful state of U.S. troops who were flung into battle unprepared for modern mechanised combat. An illuminating account of the difficulties in creating a wartime mass army after years of peacetime neglect. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to both the serious historian and neophite alike. I am awaiting with great anticipation the second volume of his "Liberation Trilogy" due in the Fall of 2005.
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Summary: Some specifics...
Review: As far as being a masterwork, others have said it better in the other reviews. I agree with their more eloquent words! -- I would like to make three points: (1) The work contains 18 maps. They are all excellent, and I was glad to see Mr. Atkinson acknowledge that (p. 658): "Gene Thorp, a master cartographer, demonstrated patience exceeded only by his great competence." This book would have been crippled if the maps had not been included. (2) I wish the title had been more specific. "An Army At Dawn; The War in North Africa, 1942-1943" is a bit misleading since it exclusively describes actions in French Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia -- but not those of the British in Libya and Egypt. The reader seeking anything about Montgomery's 'see-saw' war against Rommel might be advised to Bierman and Smith's "The Battle of Alamein" (which covers much more than merely Alamein!), or some similar work. (3) The biggest frustration I encountered with "An Army at Dawn" was that I needed to construct my own table of organization below divison level to make sense of the tactical maneuvering. I wish the "Allied Chain of Command" on page xvii weren't so skimpy. Much of the narrative concerns actions at regimental level. Using the index and the text I was able to recreate an adequate table, but this process was time-consuming. For those interested, the regiments comprising Allen's First Infantry Division were: Stark's 26th, Taylor's 16th, and the 18th. The regiments in Irwin's (later Eddy's) Ninth Infantry Division were Brown's 39th, DeRohan's 60th, and the 47th. Finally, Ryder's 34th Infantry Division consisted of Fountain's 133rd, the 168th, and the 135th. As far as Ward's (later Harmon's) First Armored Division, it was based on four combat commands: McQuillan's CC-A; Robinett's (later Benson's) CC-B; Stack's CC-C; and Maraist's CC-D. I hope this breakdown makes future readers task a bit easier! Be aware that most of the book is about these units. In Tunisia, the most gripping part of the campaign, the US Fifth Army (including it Second Armored Division and Third Infantry Division) are barely mentioned, usually as sources of replacement units. (Just in case you wondered where they were, it was NOT at the front!) -- All in all, this was a fantastically informative and disturbing book (I am writing this review as hostilities in Iraq loom.) We were very lucky in 1942; our troops went in cocky, and came out either wiser or dead. Atkinson reminds us how arduous the path to competence was!
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Summary: Learning to Fight
Review: An ARMY at DAWN is a highly-readable, detailed and fascinating account of the war in North-West Africa in 1942-1943. The Allied defeat at the Kasserine Pass is in the middle of the book; the story starts well before that. You will be amazed at how unprepared the troops were for battle. Those who survived, learned how to fight. I love maps and this book has them. You can follow the battles from place to place. The maps help us to understand the challenges faced by both sides. Atkinson writes about the everyday life of everyone involved from civilians to foot-soldiers and up to Eisenhower. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, World War Two or the military. Dan Poynter, ParaPublishing.com
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Summary: Magisterial Account of the War In North Africa
Review: A impressive account of the N. African campaign. Mr. Atkinson perfectly balances the personal, political and military to present a panoramic view of America's first push against the axis. Ike and Patton come to life as well as the footsoilders.
Those that fought the war have been called the vanishing generation. This books reminds us, in vivid detail and beautiful writing, of the honor, skill and valor of those that served their country during those very desperate days.As long as books like this are still in print there will always be a bit of them with us. Mr. Atikinson has served them well.
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Summary: Good mixture of strategy and individual experiences
Review: While the curtain starts to fall on the veterans of World War 2, this book, and the next two by the author, may be one of the last major works to be written of it, while still contemporaneous with them. The book's subject is the American Army, and it covers a lesser written about arena - the North African campaigns. Most broader books have given this scant attention. It was after all a minor kerfuffle, compared to the titanic engagements at Stalingrad and El Alamein. Plus, for Americans, there has been a subtle and maybe unwitting deprecation. It is mostly remembered for the battle of Kasserine Pass, where Rommel gave the green Yanks a bloody nose. So certainly, the author has done a generous favour for history. From musty and probably little read military archives, and the oral recollections of survivors, he has compiled an eloquent narrative. The mixture of broad strategic considerations, tatical struggles, and well chosen anecdotes of individuals' experiences is skilful. Several passages of the latter read like classic potboiler spy thrillers. I would compare this to the classic "Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman or Martin Gilbert's history of the Great War. My only caveat is that I wish the author would hurry up the schedule, and publish the next two books before 2008! Still, if he writes as well as this, it may be worth the wait.
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