This is an excellent book on the backstage of war, all that lies behind the actual battles. It is also an excellent, and it appears unbiased, account of how the US Army moved from a peace to a war mindset, often despite the commanding officers, and sometimes thanks to them.

It strikes a good balance between the levels of information, from the men in the trenches or the landing boats to the politics and logistics that put them there and the whys of it. It is openly a book about the US Army, so do not take it as a book about the war in North Africa, because it is not its purpose. It shows how the army,and its generals, and the individual troops that handle the killing and dying, change and become the combat machine that would win the war in (West) Europe. It does not pull any punches on those first novice mistakes and catastrophes, but you can also see the hints of greatness in the eyars to come, as well as how propaganda shapes up facts to suit the needs.

My main complaint, as with most war books, is that it would do better with a few less photos and more and better maps.