Rick Atkinson

Rick Atkinson is an American journalist and author. won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for history for his book An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943.

Now some of his books are available as downloadable audio books:

Rick Atkinson MP3 Audio Books Downloads

His latest book The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy) has been chosen by The New York Times to be among the '100 Notable Books of 2007'.

An Army at Dawn - Rick Atkinson - Audio Book

The definitive history of the war in North Africa.

In the first volume of a remarkable trilogy, An Army at Dawn, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson provides the definitive history of the war in North Africa.

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is an epic story of courage and calamity, of miscalculation and enduring triumph. An Army at Dawn begins on the eve of Operation TORCH, the daring amphibious invasion of Morocco and Algeria. After three days of hard fighting against the French, American and British troops push deeper into North Africa.

But the confidence gained after several early victories soon wanes; casualties mount rapidly, battle plans prove ineffectual, and hope for a quick and decisive victory evaporates. The Allies discover that they are woefully unprepared to fight and win this war. North Africa becomes a proving ground: it is here that American officers learn how to lead, here that soldiers learn how to hate, here that an entire army learns what it will take to vanquish a formidable enemy.

Many great battle captains emerged in North Africa, including Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and Montgomery. Atkinson brings these commanders vividly to life. He takes us to the front lines of every major battle-from Oran to Kasserine to Tunis. In North Africa, the Allied coalition came into its own, the enemy forever lost the initiative, and the United States-for the first time-began to act like a great power.

Atkinson casts a clear eye on the dark tragedies that haunt every war. The first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, An Army At Dawn is history of the highest order-brilliantly researched, rich with new material and surprising insights, the deeply human story of a monumental battle for the future of civilization.

Listen to a sample audio of this epic audio book here: An Army at Dawn - Rick Atkinson - Audio Book. If you like what you hear, you can immediately download this audio book online!
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The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy) - Rick Atkinson

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy)

by Rick Atkinson

Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $35.00

Atkinson surpasses his Pulitzer-winning An Army at Dawn in this empathetic, perceptive analysis of the second stage in the U.S. Army's grassroots development from well-intentioned amateurs to the most formidable fighting force of World War II. The battles in Sicily and Italy developed the combat effectiveness and the emotional hardness of a U.S. Army increasingly constrained to bear the brunt of the Western allies' war effort, he argues. Demanding terrain, harsh climate and a formidable opponent confirmed the lesson of North Africa: the only way home was through the Germans: kill or be killed. Atkinson is pitilessly accurate demonstrating the errors and misjudgments of senior officers, Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, Gen. Mark Clark and their subordinates commanding corps and divisions. The price was paid in blood by the men at the sharp end: British and French, Indians and North Africans-above all, Americans. All that remained of the crew of one burned-out tank were the fillings of their teeth, for one example. The Mediterranean campaign is frequently dismissed by soldiers and scholars as a distraction from the essential objective of invading northern Europe. Atkinson makes a convincing case that it played a decisive role in breaking German power, forcing the Wehrmacht onto a defensive it could never abandon. - Publishers Weekly

Release Date: 10/02/2007

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Rick Atkinson at a Glance

Rick Atkinson (born 1952, in Munich) is an American journalist and author whose contributions led to four Pulitzer Prizes.

Atkinson was born in Munich. His father was an United States Army officer and he grew up at military posts.

He earned his bachelor degree from East Carolina University in 1974 and a master of art degree from the University of Chicago in 1976. His first reporting job was at the The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas

He started working at the Kansas City Times in 1977. He won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for articles including a series on the West Point Class of 1966. He also contributedMost articles do not include the Hyatt Pulitzer in Atkinson's list although it was awarded to the entire newsroom. to the Times overall effort which won it another Pulitzer Prize the same year for the coverage of the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.

In 1983 he worked for The Washington Post where he covered The Pentagon and the 1984 Presidential election and was national editor for two years. He went on book leave in 1988 to finish The Long Gray Line, which he had begun reporting on in Kansas City.

He returned to the Post in 1989 and was the paper's lead reporter in...

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