"Rick Atkinson's Day of Battle - Bargain Book at B&N" Topic

The Barnes & Noble website has this book listed as a "bargain" for $6.98 USD (originally $35 USD ) – this one covers WWII in Sicily and Italy, 43-44, volume 2 of the Liberation Trilogy.

This is a great series and the second book covers the Sicily landings, Anzio, and up to the seizure of Rome. Very few Allied commanders come away unscathed in this book and there were several fascinating events that I had no idea that they occurred. Worth every penny.

I agree. An excellent book on what is generally a forgotten front of the war in Europe. Was well worth the price when it came out and an outstanding bargain at the B&N price.

I have to disagree. I really don't care much for his stuff at all. Very much 'POP' history compiled from other popular books. I tried listening to it ona book on tape ona long drive and before disk two I had to yank it as I started screaming at the thing for errors in the text.

And no blaming someone else like an editor as HE read it himself. I mean like calling a division a regiment and stuff like that.

I just don't get what all the fuss is over his books.

I concur with jgawne. I read his book "In the Company of Soldiers:A Chronicle of Combat" about the 101st in Iraq and it convinced not to bother with his WWII stuff. IMO he makes Ambrose look like a hardcore historian.

Yep, it's pop history written by a jounalist. But it's a good read about a generally ignored front.

He writes well, and he finds great episodes and anecdotes, that made it a fresh look at that front for me. The only factual error I can remember was his writing about using keys to start a jeep…

"I tried listening to it ona book on tape ona long drive and before disk two I had to yank it as I started screaming at the thing for errors in the text. "

Well then I recommend you keep a healthy distance from "The Path to Victory" by Douglas Porch. It's actually a decent book on the Med campaign that tries to show how that theater allowed the Allies to get the most out of their air and sea superiority while the Americans were still working-up their army.

It falls down when the author tries to discuss anything on the tactical level, like when he writes that the Italians sank HMS Nelson, or how the Tiger tank had armor that was too thin in the face of the awesome British 6-pounder AT gun. His command of Italian is worse than no knowledge at all, referring to the Italian Navy (la Regia Marina) as 'la regina navale', a phrase so meaningless that an Italian friend of mine found it to be an insult to the language. When I tried to get him to translate it he looked like someone who had just discovered that they were sharing their house with a ed-off skunk.