BOOK: Army At Dawn

Rommel in North Africa

I’m always skeptical about journalists who make historical judgments. The ones that write books on a historical event or era and then reinterpret it. Usually they reinterpret it by projecting today’s norms on the past. It’s called by professional historians the, “Whig Interpretation” of history. These books are fairly common and are often met with much praise in the press and from readers. Professional historians often wince at such books. I had a history professor who said he read them for “light amusement.” Such reinterpretations are common in books and articles about women’s or societal issues. We tend to project the present onto the past. Historians are on guard against this tempting and bad behavior. It’s a glaring relic of 19^th century historical writing. But it made that writing interesting and opinionated. The difference with today’s reinterpretations is that they are usually uninteresting and oh so politically correct. So when a friend suggested that I read Rick Atkinson’s, 2007 book, “Army At Dawn The War In Africa 1942-1943,” I was a bit wary. He is a journalist from the Washington Post. I had grown up with my own infantile ideas about the North African Theater fueled by old reruns of the “Rat Patrol.” So I read with an open mind. What I found was a wonderful readable book, detailed and well researched. But I still have some misgivings about his interpretations of some events. Is the North African campaign as important as the battles of Stalingrad and Midway, where the "Axis ... forever lost the initiative" Hmm, maybe, but I’m not so sure. I’ve never heard it put that way, but perhaps it’s so. Atkinson’ certainly makes his case. Other historians may disagree. Either way this is an interesting book and one much needed for this often forgotten theater of WWII. This is the place where Rommel 21^st Panzer Division had his uncanny success. A place that made him the legendary “Desert Fox.” But the Americans would prevail. A particular strong point of this book is the sketches of all the personalities involved and the dynamics between them. If you are interested in the North African campaign get this book, it just may be the definitive account.