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Rick Atkinson

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy Paperback – October 1, 2003

by Rick Atkinson (Author)

1,786 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Liberation Trilogy

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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of miscalculation and incomparable courage, of calamity and enduring triumph. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson focuses on 1942 and 1943, showing how central the great drama that unfolded in North Africa was to the ultimate victory of the Allied powers and to America's understanding of itself.

Opening with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at Dawn follows the American and British armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algiers, and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and often poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but flawed commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Rommel.

Brilliantly researched, rich with new material and fresh insights, Atkinson's vivid narrative provides the definitive history of the war in North Africa.

Print length

704 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Holt Paperbacks
Publication date

October 1, 2003
Dimensions

5.54 x 1.28 x 8.28 inches
ISBN-10

0805074481
ISBN-13

978-0805074482
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An Army at Dawn may be the best World War II battle narrative since Cornelius Ryan's classics, The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far." -The Wall Street Journal

"Exceptional . . . A work strong in narrative flow and character portraits of the principle commanders . . . [A] highly pleasurable read." -The New York Times Book Review

"A splendid book . . . The emphasis throughout is on the human drama of men at war." -The Washington Post Book World

"Atkinson's account will be a monument among accounts of World War II." -John S. D. Eisenhower, author of Allies and The Bitter Woods

"One of the most compelling pieces of military history I've ever read." -Gen. Wesley K. Clark, USA (ret.), former NATO Supreme Commander

"A master of the telling profile . . . This vivid, personality-driven account of the campaign to drive Axis forces from North Africa shows the political side of waging war, even at the tactical level." -Chicago Tribune

"An Army at Dawn is more than a military history, it is a social and psychological inquiry as well." -Paul Fussell, author of Doing Battle and Wartime

"Brilliant . . . This is history and war in the hands of a gifted and unflinching writer." -The Kansas City Star

About the Author

Rick Atkinson is a staff writer for The Washington Post, currently on assignment in Iraq. He is the bestselling author of The Long Gray Line and Crusade. His many awards include the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (October 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 704 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805074481
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805074482
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.54 x 1.28 x 8.28 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #148,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,574 in World War II History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,786 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		19%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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hudunit333

Sensationalized

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

I am halfway through the book and have found several inaccuracies but these are not really significant. The real point is that the author tells the story through a sort of condescending "Monday Morning Quarterback" style. This was a citizen army rushing into it's first ever major league conflict. The author seems to sort of have a joke about the shortcomings of the allies. I wouldn't read this as a first learning of the conflict. It's OK if you are quite familiar with what actually happened already. It is a kind of story composed of anecdotal pieces, interesting, but does not really combine to give the whole story. I feel that the author tried to make the work more interesting and entertaining rather getting to
the heart of the matter. I admit that I am only half way through the book but that is increasingly my impression.

41 people found this helpful

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PTM

Detailed, Thorough, Fascinating but Emotionally Exhausting and Overwrought At Times

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2019

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This is a masterful recounting of the North African Campaign and I've been both listening to it and reading it, and in both formats it is emotionally exhausting. And it is extremely confusing listening to it without benefit of maps to help you place where any given battle, meeting, city is located, so be aware of that. It's not an easy book in audio edition. Reading helps quite a lot, but here I notice the author's penchant for using obscure vocabulary, in a way that simply begins to feel pretentious and overwrought. But only one of hundreds of examples, "They glanced at the windrows of corpses in their white shrouds and looked away." Windrows? Seriously. Why not simply, "Row upon row of corpses." Where simplicity would have lent added rhetorical power, the author too often chooses obscurity and pedantry.

But...yes...it is a great book, extremely detailed.

What impressed me most about the narrative is the meticulously researched and documented evidence provided to show how indeed the Americans had a lot of learning to do, from the Eisenhower down to the lowliest private, and to read of the mistakes that resulted in the death of so many is heartbreaking and infuriating.

16 people found this helpful

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Pat

Refreshing and Unique View of the North African Campaign.

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2017

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Atkinson is a gifted writer with a talent for presenting WWII combat in blunt, unadorned prose faithfully describing the chaos, terror, emotional shock, pathos and savagery of each battle. As an additional bonus, the author focuses on the ordinary American infantryman and the American home front, two heroes often given short shrift in WWII non-fiction books. Using his talent for almost lyrical prose, Atkinson can make you experience the frustration, fears and hopes of ordinary soldiers fighting desperate battles - the sense of stark realism is tempered by his compassion for ordinary soldiers attempting to follow orders, orders both foolish and brilliant. Atkinson also acknowledges our debt to the American home front which produced an abundance of weapons, supplies and food which powered not only the American forces but the Brits, Russians, Chinese and Canadians on various fronts. His description of a small Iowa town receiving a blizzard of "We regret to inform you" telegrams from the War Dept. after a single, bloody battle conveys a sense of the shock and despair experienced by the town's residents upon learning that many of their sons had died in combat - a truly moving depiction of the grief shared by a close knit community of average Americans.

However, Atkinson shares an obsession held by many historians. He drags the reader through the childish politics of the North African war, the oft told tale of the Darlan incident, the juvenile antics of Churchill and Roosevelt touring the countryside after their self serving conference in Casablanca and the feud between British and American generals detailing the Brits' national inferiority complex over American efforts to assist them and the American's unwarranted feelings of inferiority toward a British military who retreated in France, were hastily evacuated, had their capitol city thoroughly bombed, surrendered an impregnable fortress in Singapore and after many initial failures finally managed to stand up to the Germans in Africa. If you're looking for a Homeric tale of heroes like Achilles and Hector - only with Eisenhower and Montgomery playing the hero role then this isn't the book for you. Atkinson is unimpressed with our various Great Men but he consistently tries to be fair in his criticism of their faults. Overall, an excellent WWII history with the exception of tedious political squabbles.

24 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Keith F. Massey

A very thorough account of the campaign

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I found this a very readable and thorough account of the allied campaign in North Africa and Tunisia during 1942/43.
Although written by an American and so from the American perspective I felt the author was fair and balanced in his approach. He is equally fair in his criticisms and goodness knows there was plenty of scope for it.

The accounts of the early attempts to seize ports by surprise were revealed as complete fiascos resulting in the deaths of many brave men. It's as though the Dieppe debacle had never happened.

The author gives an insight into the lot of the men doing the fighting as well as the political wrangling and a neat critique of the commander's both senior and junior as the story progresses.

Well worth reading in my view and difficult to put down once started!

Alyson Burrell

Excellent book for the WWII junkies

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

Got this for my husband who is a WWII afficianado. He's reading it now and loves it. He's bowled over by the amout of detail. Also, the book is MASSIVE so if you're one who likes to get absorbed into a good book for a nice long time this is for you. Will definitely be getting him the others in the series.

Dr M J Hardiman

I have long wished to follow the exploits of my ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

I have long wished to follow the exploits of my father from north Africa to Italy and thence to Europe with the 8th army - I have read many books on the second world war but Rick Atkinson has put together one of the most comprehensive accounts of these events, accenting the American involvement but giving all the allies due respect, British, Canadian, Polish, French, Nepalese, Indian, African - and all other allies - not mentioned here but of all of equal importance. One of the most important and fascinating aspects of these accounts is the interaction - or lack of - between the few essential commanders who attempted to do the bidding of the planners and the overall commander Eisenhower whose worth seems to have been misunderstood by his self obsessed generals - a genius in keeping a team together and focussed on the goal.

3 people found this helpful

N. J. Edwards

Recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

Fantastic book. Amazing detail and insight, easy to read. Made a not particularly glamorous part of the war fascinating. Tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

Thomas A. Regelski

One of the best war histories I've ever read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

One of the best war histories I've ever read. Well written, in terms of the descriptions of people and of the battles, in comparison to historical accounts simply of the facts. Author has a wide vocabulary that he sometimes overuses, sending me to the dictionary (though I've written 6 books myself).

2 people found this helpful

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