Rick Atkinson Books In Order

Publication Order of The Revolution Trilogy Books

Publication Order of World War II Liberation Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Rick Atkinson
Rick Atkinson was born November 16, 1952 in Munich, Germany to Margaret and Larry Atkinson, a US Army officer, and as a result, he grew up on different military bases around the world. After he turned down an appointment to West Point, he attended East Carolina University on a full scholarship, graduating in 1974 with a bachelor of arts degree in English. Rick received a master of arts degree in English literature and language in 1975 from the University of Chicago.

In 1975, while he was visiting his parents for Christmas at Fort Riley, Kansas, he found a job at The Morning Sun as a newspaper reporter in Pittsburg, Kansas, covering local government, crime, and other topics in southeast Kansas.

Then in April of 1977, he joined The Kansas City Times’ Staff, working nights in suburban Johnson County, Kansas before he moved to the city desk and later serving as a national reporter; by 1981 he had joined the newspaper’s bureau in Washington, D. C.

He was hired as a reporter on The Washington Post’s national staff in November of 1983. He wrote about the 1984 presidential election, defense issues, and covered Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (the first female vice presidential candidate from a major party), and national topics.

Rick left the newspaper world in the year 1999 in order to write about World War Ii, a consuming interest that started with his birth in Germany and was rekindled during his three year tour in Berlin.

On two separate occasions, he rejoined the Post, first in 2003 when he accompanied General David Petraeus and the 101st Airborne Division during the Iraq invasion. The other time was in 2007 when he made trips to both Afghanistan and Iraq while he was writing “Left of Boom”, which was an investigative series about roadside bombs in modern warfare, for which he won the Gerald R. Ford for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.

Rick has won two Pulitzer Prizes, one in 1982 for National Reporting and the other in 2003 for History. In 1999, a Pulitzer Prize was awarded to The Post for articles on shootings by the District of Columbia police department. He has also won a George Polk Award for national reporting, a Morton Mintz Award for Investigative Reporting, and the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.

Rick is married to Jane Ann Chestnut from Lawrence, Kansas who is a clinician and researcher at the National Institutes of Health, and they have two grown kids. One is named Sarah, who is a colorectal surgeon and physician at the University of Washington Medical Center, and Rush, who works as a criminal trial attorney for the Justice Department.

Rick’s first book, called “The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point’s Class of 1966”, was released in the year 1989. His work is from the historical, military history, and non-fiction genres.

“An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943” is the first book in the “World War II Liberation” trilogy, released in 2002. The destruction of the Third Reich and the liberation of Europe is a tale of enduring triumph and bravery, about miscalculation and calamity. No modern reader can understand the ultimately victory of the Allied powers without having a grasp of the great drama which unfolded in North Africa from 1942 and 1943. This first year of the Allied war truly was a pivotal moment in US history, and is the moment that America began acting like a great power.

Starting with the daring amphibious invasion in late 1942, this follows the British and American armies while they battle the French in Morocco and Algeria, then take the Italians and Germans on in Tunisia. With each battle, an inexperienced and occasionally badly led army slowly becomes a superb fighting force. Central to this story are the extraordinary yet fallible commanders that come to dominate this battlefield: Patton, Rommel, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Montgomery.

“The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944” is the second book in the “World War II Liberation” trilogy, released in 2007. The Italian campaign’s outcome wasn’t ever certain. In fact, Churchill, Roosevelt, and their military advisers engaged in a heated debate about whether the invasion of the supposed soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea.

However, once it’s under way, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never once wavered, despite the painfully high cost. The battles at Anzio, Salerno, and Monte Cassino were especially deadly and difficult, but while the months go by, the Allied forces continue driving the Germans up the Italian peninsula. American soldiers and officers, led by Lieutenant General Mark Clark (who is one of the war’s most complicated and controversial commanders) become more and more proficient and determined. With Rome’s liberation in June of ‘44, total victory at last starts to seem inevitable.

“The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945” is the third book in the “World War II Liberation” trilogy, released in 2013. At a staggering cost, the US and its allies liberated Europe and defeated Hitler, which is the twentieth century’s unrivaled epic. This is the most dramatic story of all: the titanic battle for Western Europe.

D-Day marks the start of the last campaign of the European war, and Rick’s riveting accounting of this bold gamble sets the tone for the masterly narrative which follows. The gruesome battle in Normandy, the disaster that wound up being Operation Market Garden, the liberation of Paris, that terrible Battle of the Bulge, and lastly, the thrust to the Third Reich’s heart. All of these historic events and more are brought to life with a lot of new material as well as a mesmerizing group of characters.

Rick tells this story from the point of view of the participants at each level, from generals and presidents to the war weary lieutenants and horrified teen riflemen. Once Germany finally surrenders, we comprehend anew both the devastating cost of this global fight and the gigantic efforts to win the Allied victory.

One Response to “Rick Atkinson”

1. Gene Lewis: 1 year ago

   I am currently reading (actually listening to) Crusade. Did, or will, Mr. Atkinson write about the post 9-11 Afghan invasion and/or the second Iraq War?

   I would love to hear of any, if any, “Lesson Learned”

   I am thoroughly enjoying “Crusade”. I think I may have a new favorite author.

   Reply