The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of his "Liberation Trilogy", Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, "An Army at Dawn" follows the British and American armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery and Rommel.

里克•阿特金森（Rick Atkinson）

★三届普利策奖得主

★普利兹克军事图书馆文献奖“终身成就奖”

里克•阿特金森曾任职美国《华盛顿邮报》特约撰稿人和编辑25年，获得2003年普利策历史图书奖、2003年军事史学会杰出图书奖、1982年普利策国内报道奖、1983年利文斯顿新闻奖等16项新闻报道、军事历史类著名奖项，是美国最具代表性的军事历史学家。

1952年，阿特金森生于一个美国军人世家，幼年曾随父亲辗转世界各地。在获得东卡罗来纳大学英语学士学位和芝加哥大学英语文学硕士学位后，他先后在《匹兹堡太阳早报》《堪萨斯城时报》《华盛顿邮报》担任记者，负责国防、外交、情报等内容。

1999年离开报社后，阿特金森专注于“二战”，写下了一系列作品，包括《“二战”解放三部曲》《西点军魂》、《漫长的灰线》和《十字军东征》等。