Nonfiction
The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944
By Rick Atkinson
Holt
The second volume of Atkinson's history of the southern campaign in World War II shows a profound grasp of tactics and strategy, while his use of quotes brings the conflict alive with a terrible vividness. While author Rick Atkinson argues for the necessity of the horrific 608-day campaign to take the fortified Italian hill town of Monte Cassino, he never forgets what war did to the men who fought it, nor the price they paid.
—Michael Kenney / Globe Correspondent
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