Pyle’s writing during the war. Impactful and alive . ( )

Fascinating, mostly because it doesn't, and doesn't try, to give you an overview. It is, as Pyle frequently states, a worms-eye view of WWII in Africa. Pyle came ashore with the first American landings and stayed with and among the troops for the entire course of the fighting in northern Africa. He wasn't, strictly, embedded - he wandered more or less at will between groups, divisions, encampments, and battles. But he saw the whole thing standing (or ducked down in a foxhole) near the men who did the fighting, and the men and women who supported them behind the lines. The other thing that makes it so good is that these were written as dispatches, and have not been edited (much) to put them into book form. So when we meet someone, we do _not_ get an overview of where they end up - no "but his life was to be cut short" or "and by the end of the war he had risen in the ranks" or whatever. That's amazingly refreshing - we get to meet them just as Pyle did, as people "here and now". There's also the oddity (which makes sense, given what he was actually writing) that nearly everyone he meets is identified by full name and address (city at least, sometimes street address). He was writing for the folks at home, and connecting with their family members or friends in the war zone is part of that. He is an optimist, and tends to see the best in everyone and every situation - but he doesn't ignore the darker side of things, just doesn't focus on it (let alone to the exclusion of the brighter side of things, as some war writers do). War is horrific, and funny, and inspiring, and destructive, and all these things at once - and Pyle manages to convey that very well. I want more! There is more - his war dispatches start in England and continue through Africa (this book), Europe, and into the war in the Pacific, though he died there. There are also columns he wrote from before the war, traveling through the US and Canada. I'm going to read them all. ( )

This book is a compilation of articles Pyle wrote about and during the Allied invasion of Africa in 1942 through the defeat of the Axis armies there in mid-1943. Pyle writes from the front much of the time and his perspective is that of the men and women in the ranks--he refers to only two generals in the course of this book, but repeatedly quotes nurses, enlisted men, NCOs and a smattering of lower-ranking officers. It's an engaging, unusual history of the first U.S. ground campaign of World War Two. ( )

Pyle is an amazing writer who really has an affinity with his subject. He'll write about generals, but his real link is with the Air Force fighter crews and the infantry. He makes you feel like you are there. You get the whole picture of war - the boredom, the sacrifice, the anger, the cold, the absolute fear and frustration. ( )

Pyle does a superb job of capturing the day to day experience of the common soldier. His anecdotes bring the reality of war to the personal level - whether sad, poignant or humorous. This book should be required reading in ROTC. ( )