Final book in Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy. Exhaustively researched, Atkinson's description of battlegrounds, combat leaders and the politicians pulling the reins enables the reader to feel the frustration of the grunt consigned to slog through pillbox-infested Western Germany, and the despondence of Ike trying to manage the front, while dealing with taciturn Montgomery and impossibly ego-centric Frenchmen. Remarkable work-highly recommend it! This last book in Rick Atkinson's trilogy on World War II spans the time from the invasion of Normandy to the surrender in 1945 by the Nazi Army. It took Atkinson 14 years to write this trilogy -- over twice as long as the length of the war itself! With the volume of reference material, I find myself wondering how he did it in even 14 years & only in three volumes. I've enjoyed the experience of reading this trilogy. It was fascinating, informative, quite honest, as best as I can tell, in the portrayal of the figures involved, both major & minor. The War itself, the event which happened over 6 years in theaters spanning Northern African, Italy, & virtually the whole of the nations of Europe leaves one feeling very empty & exceedingly sad. The financial cost of the war was roughly 4 trillion dollars by contemporary standards. The greater & more important cost was over 3 quarters of a million casualties for the Western Allies. The lives of 16,112,566 Americans in uniform & the lives of their families & friends were affected in one way or another. The questions with which every person involved in & with the War had to face, perhaps still face, is "What was at stake?" & "Was it worth it?"Unquestionably, there are positive and negative aspects that can be looked at & evaluated. Most of the answers are not the last word. In my own view, I don't believe war is a solution to problems. It may be unavoidable in some instances, but I don't believe it should ever be the first & only resort.Atkinson is forthright in pointing out the strengths & weaknesses of the the military leaders of the World War II. As in any human enterprise there were moments of true valor, but also countless instances of lack of ability, stupidity & petty vainglory. Perhaps the question to ask is: what impact did this whole enterprise eventually have on American culture & society? Given the state of U.S. politics, etc. which has emerged down to the present day, I seriously doubt that we could successfully meet a challenge as vast as World War II.I'm happy to have been able to plow through these three books. They are an important chronicle in our country's history.
What do You think about The Guns Of Last Light (2000)?
Excellent book. Very good detail about each component of the war. Well researched and documented.
—mike2801
It was an amazing book but no one in the class should read it unless you want to go crazy
—Angela
