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Lädt ... An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy (Original 2002; 2007. Auflage)von Rick Atkinson (Autor)
Werk-InformationenAn Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943 von Rick Atkinson (2002)
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Books Read in 2016 (1,470) » 4 mehr Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. ![]() ![]() “Memory, too, has transcendent power, even as we swiftly move toward the day when not a single participant remains alive to tell his tale, and the epic of World War II forever slips into national mythology. The author’s task is to authenticate: to warrant that history and memory give integrity to the story, to aver that all this really happened. But the final few steps must be the reader’s. For among mortal powers, only imagination can bring back the dead.” The first book in the Liberation trilogy provides a riveting account of the Allied landings in North Africa during World War II. Allied troops landed in Algeria and Morocco, overpowered the Vichy French, and fought the Axis forces on the way to Tunisia, the planned launching point for the invasion of Italy. It is a detailed description of tactics, strategy, and impact of military operations. It includes profiles of many commanders, including Commander-in-Chief Eisenhower, Alexander, Bradley, Montgomery, Patton, Rommel, and von Arnim. This is an exceptional work of non-fiction. Atkinson’s writing is outstanding. As I read this book, the descriptions were so vivid that I felt as if a movie were running through my head. “Not until dusk did the British vanguard reach the col below Longstop’s northwest face. Rain had transformed the Medjerda valley into a vast brown sea too quaggy even for mules. A brace of bullocks was harnessed to pull a few guns forward. Wheeled vehicles bogged down 5,000 yards from the hill. Even tracked carriers could get no closer than Chassart Teffaha, a farm hamlet two miles away. There, in a damp cellar that stank like a slaughterhouse, surgeons worked by candlelight over boys beyond surgeoning; stretcher bearers dumped another load and headed back into the night without even bothering to fold stretchers stiff with blood.” The author inserts plentiful quotes from journals, correspondences, and official documents to support his conclusions. I appreciated the inclusion of the many maps, photos, and endnotes. We get a “behind the scenes” view of the interpersonal conflicts and military politics among commanders, but it is not just a view from the top. It is also sprinkled with stories of individual soldiers. Atkinson highlights both mistakes and triumphs. “Confusion and error, valor and misdeed marked this first night of green troops in combat.” North Africa provided a training ground for the previously untested American troops. By the time they reached Tunis, the troops were battle-hardened and ready for the fierce battles to come. It is important to understand the North African campaign in order to get a full picture of the road to the ultimate victory in Europe. I plan to read the final two books in the trilogy. This is history at its finest. I highly recommend it. First let me say that this was a thoroughly interesting book and I enjoyed it to the last. I am not going to say more about the quality of the writing that has not already been said. What I can say is that I learned quite a bit about the north African campaign that I simply did not know. When I have read books about WWII they have tended to be about the war in Europe or I have read biographies like Carlos d'Este's Patton which talks more about the person than it does the theater of war. A good book and I look forward to reading the other two in the trilogy.
"I don’t think I’ve ever read a history book that flowed so well. The book is an incredible marriage of storytelling and historical fact, so that the reader feels both entertained and very well informed." "The most thorough and satisfying history yet of the campaigns in North Africa." "This is a fascinating work which any reader can enjoy, and professional historians will find perusal of it eminently worth their while." "Despite diction that occasionally lapses into the melodramatic, general readers and specialists alike will find worthwhile fare in this intellectually convincing and emotionally compelling narrative." Gehört zur ReiheAuszeichnungen
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.5423History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Campaigns and battles by theatreKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:![]()
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