Good N. Africa campaign books?

Recently I've become interested in the North Africa campaign and was wondering if anyone could recommend any good books on the subject. All recommendations are appreciated

 

You might look at Rick Atkinsons European Theater trilogy: "Army at Dawn" is about Operation Torch (North Africa) the second is about Operation Husky (Sicily/Italy) and the third is Operation Overlord (Normandy).

 

@JagerBomb thank you very much! Looking forward to getting ahold of them. By the way, noticed in the new recruit section that you said you're from Texas. Nice to see another one of us around!

 

Oh Yeah, as I said in my intro, maybe the IQ level will jump considerably with us "Amateur Texas Historians" in the house!!

 

I would not recommend Desert War from Moorehead

 

The problem is that there are no good books about the NA campaign,and this for obvious reasons .

On the web,the following studies are available (about specific parts of the NA campaign)

1) The British anti-shipping campaign in the Mediterranean (by R.Hammond)

2)Regia Marina Italiana:the oil issue

3)The Crusader project

4) On the Axis History Forum ::North African Railroads

5)Rommel's Desert War

6)Logistics and the Desert Fox

7)Operational planning and logistical sustainment

8) Desert Warfare (by Alfred Toppe)

9)An analysis of the operational leadership of Rommel in the Afrika Korps

10)British and German logistical supports during the WWII North african Campaign

11)Germany conquers Middle East oil


Others (non on the Web)

1) Van Crefeld :supplying war

2)German operations in North Africa

3)Rommel's desert campaign:february 41-september 42

4)The Mediterranean and the Middle East ( by Playfair) Vol II and III

 

??? Really? I don't see that this is accurate and thus the "obvious reasons" are far from obvious to me.

Indeed you listed a couple ttat are pretty highly regarded.

 

The books I mentioned all were treating a specific aspect of the NA war ,none was treating the whole campaign,because it is impossible to treat the whole campaign in one book : the NA war lasted almost 3 years,soldiers were fighting from the coasts of Morocco to Alamein,soldiers from more than 5 countries :Britain and the Commonwealth,France,the US,Germany and Italy .

The role of Italy and France still is terra incognita .,the knowledge of how men,supplies and weapons were transported from Germany/Italy to the front is almost inexistant( how many people know that the distance Tobruk/Cologne was some 4000 km,and that it took more than 5 weeks to transport one ton of supplies?),for the British side,it is even worse ..
A book about THE WAR in NA has still not been written,and I doubt that it ever will be written .

 

And, I am not mentioning the role of Rommel,which has evoluated from idolization to bashing,the myths of Malta and Ultra,the influence of Greece and Crete,etc,etc

 

Well despite any arguments you guys have given me plenty of options. Thanks everyone!

 

But no one mentioned a good book on the whole campaign. Nor is it necessarily impossible although it would be lacking in some detail if it wasn't several volumes. However I'm not sure that's the best way to learn about something anyway. A single reference ofetn means a single point of view and having multiple ones often grants more insight.

 

After giving this some thought, I'd recommend these ( warning : they are from the British POV )...

The three 'Crucible Of War' volumes by the late Barrie Pitt ( 'Wavell's Command', 'Auchinleck's Command', 'Montgomery & Alamein' ). Very well written and standing the test of time reasonably well.

And - from a literary standpoint - Keith Douglas 'Alamein To Zem Zem'. Not pure history - a memoir which is now considered a modern classic.

All of the above have been reprinted several times in paperback so are not hard to get hold of.

 

Because,AM never wrote Desert War: Desert War is the Title given to a reprint of the books he did write during the war (70 years ago) ,while he was a war correspondent .Thus,its reliability and value are more than questionable : Desert War is largely fiction,fit for Readers Digest and the Christian Science Monitor .,but, I should not recommend it as source .
M.Mitchell is not bad, but I should not recommend her as a source for the pre war South .
I have "Away all boats" from Kenneth Dodson: nicely written, but I should not recommend it as a source for the war in the Pacific .

The official history of the NA War by general Playfair is something that can be recommended,but I don't know if it is still available and to which price .

 

The one I would recommend is Alan Moorehead's "African Trilogy".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Trilogy-North-Campaign-1940-43/dp/030435497X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400954847&sr=1-1&keywords=alan+moorehead%2C+african+trilogy


Lesley

 

Are any of these the book you are referring to ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mgen-I.S.-O.-Playfair/e/B00J7CHY4W/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1401198785&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Desert-War-North-Africa-Magazine/dp/B005JWTOH4/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401198753&sr=1-6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_gnr_fkmr1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ageneral+playfair+official+history&keywords=general+playfair+official+history&ie=UTF8&qid=1401198977
Note that kindle editions of the latter are available in at least one case.

 

I just wanted to say that I can not say enough about An Army at Dawn. I saw a few others posted reccomendations for it. I came away after that book in awe... and thankful we didnt try to attack Fortress Europe head-on early in the war as some wanted. When I was at the Air Force NCO Academy in Germany about a year ago, CMSGT of the Air Force Cody personally recommended it to the entire class and, after we were dismissed, I told them,"The man ain't lyin... it's a damn good book."

 

Kind of piggybacking on Lou's Hyperwar suggestion, the "Green Books" are a pretty good resource. The particular volume would be Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. You can also download the PDF at the US Army Center of Military History website.

Again, it's focus is in the US Army's role in the North African campaign, which goes to LJAd's point, but it is a worthwhile (and FREE) resource.

 

'The Desert War' by George Forty, ISBN 0 - 7509 - 2810 - 7. gives quite a good overview. Some nice pics too.