Detailed account of the North Africa campaign of 1942-43. A must read for everyone interested in military history.

Without a doubt this is a must read for anyone who claims to be a WWII history buff, or anyone who just loves to read about WWII. It is by far the finest of Rick Atkinson’s trilogy series books, and the two later books will disappoint after reading this one. Having said that, this book really sets the stage for understanding the weak status of the US military machine before and during the initial years of WWII in the African campaign. There are few, if any, books that tell this less glamorous part of US army history. By reading this book, you will appreciate how much the US army grew in a short time to take its place a a military powerhouse.

As someone in his mid-twenties this was an important read for me. My knowledge and view of WWII has greatly expanded through such a well written narration of the war in Africa. What fell short for me was the resolution of the maps. They did not hold up well on the retina display making them difficult to study.

I found many of the details very interesting reading. Obviously a lot of research went into this book. It seems very accurate. I enjoyed it immensely.

The American Army's drive across North Africa in the early days of World War II is a tale of an inexperienced army stumbling its way from blunder to blunder at the cost of thousands of lives before finding the strength to regroup and drive the German and Italian armies out of Tunisia. No one could tell it better than Rick Atkinson, who uses official records and the letters and memories of the soldiers to tell this great story, the first of a series on the American Army in the war.

I am a WWII junkie. I totally loved reading this book. I already knew about the North African Campaign but never in such detail. If you want to read in depth about the ground campaign of WWII in Europe and Africa, this is the first of a three volume set you should read. I have read both volumes and I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the third.

Knew the basics, but Rick really brings out the detail in a very readable way. Shocked to learn we had to fight the French before we could fight the Germans! Rommel was a genius and we were lucky he didn't have a higher priority from Berlin for men & materials. His style is so engaging, you catch yourself wondering the outcome of battles even when you knew ahead of time the results. The way school history books should read....engagingly!