Andrew F. (Ravensworth) reviewed Superbly Written on 1/2/2009 + 12 more book reviews

The portrayal of the US Army in its first operations of the war against Germany is not covered by many other authors. Rick Atkinson makes no assumptions of knowledge on the reader's part. He thoroughly covers the training, preparation and eventual invasion of North Africa. His narrative style is engaging and informative.

The American Army that existed prior to World War II was a small professional group of soldiers. The Army that went to war was far different. These "citizen soldiers" did things differently. The Army high Command had to adjust to this. Atkinson weaves this into the fabric of the army and its leaders.

The star of this series is the army. Not it's generals. Eisenhower certainly gets credit for handling the political and military situation more than adequately. He is not however the Eisenhower we see in 1944. There are many things to learn for both he and his soldiers. The entire book is well documented and illustrated making what could be at times complex theories and tactics easier to understand.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in World War II. It gives you a glimpse at the growing pains of what was to become the largest Army the country ever fielded. It should be mandatory reading for any World War II scholars.

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