Crusade, Rick Atkinson
Crusade, Rick Atkinson
List: $34.95 | Sale: $24.47
Club: $17.47

Crusade
The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War

Author: Rick Atkinson

Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach

Unabridged: 24 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/18/2011


Synopsis

Throughout the Gulf War of 1991, unprecedented restrictions on the media’s access to the battlefield kept the true story of that brief, brutal conflict from being told. Now, after two years of intensive research, Rick Atkinson has written what will surely come to be recognized as the definitive chronicle of the war. Crusade follows the unfolding battle from the first night to the final day, providing vivid accounts of bombing runs and White House strategy sessions, firefights and bitter interservice conflicts. Weaving individual stories into the larger narrative, Atkinson represents the allied campaign against Saddam Hussein as a wholly new kind of war, one that has transformed the nature of modern warfare.

About Rick Atkinson

Rick Atkinson, a former staff writer and senior editor at the Washington Post, is the highly acclaimed author of several books of military history. An Army at Dawn won the Pulitzer Prize for History, and The Guns at Last Light was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Among his many accolades and awards are the George Polk Award, the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award, the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize, the Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award, the Axel Springer Prize, and the Henry Adams Prize, among others.

About Jeff Riggenbach

Jeff Riggenbach (1947-2021) narrated numerous titles for Blackstone Audio and won an AudioFile Earphones Award. An author, contributing editor, and producer, he worked in radio in San Francisco for more than thirty years, earning a Golden Mike Award for journalistic excellence.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Terry on May 31, 2020

This is the first of Rick Atkinson's books that I've read. Amazing research. He manages to make the historical account of the Persian Gulf War seem almost like reading a Tom Clancy novel. From a fly-on-the-wall perspective in planning sessions, to combat on the ground and air, this chronicles events......more

Goodreads review by Eric on April 02, 2017

As a veteran of the Gulf War and a fan of Rick Atkinson's work, I was 24 years late in reading this book. I'm glad I finally did. There was much I learned that I had either forgotten or never knew about what was happening in other parts of the theater, including the two Navy ships that were severely......more

Goodreads review by Arthur on November 19, 2023

A 25 hour unabridged audiobook. How does one rate a book that covers such a broad period. The beginning was a slog. I believe the author wanted an authoritative book on the conflict, but naturally that could not be achieved without access to Iraqi commanders and archives. Overall I liked it. But the......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on May 25, 2016

This is probably the best military history of the Gulf War that I've come across. Atkinson is a fantastic writer. There's not a lot on the policy side, but Atkinson gives an engaging account of the war from multiple perspectives: American generals, field commanders, prisoners of war, and ordinary so......more

Goodreads review by Bruce on August 03, 2017

Excellent. I read Atkinson's trilogy on the US Army a few years ago and enjoyed them immensely. Atkinson's style is engaging and never dry. Crusade was no different. The first Iraq War turned out to be a cake walk but Crusade illustrates that few recognized that at the time. As a result there is muc......more


Quotes

“Brilliantly written and rich in important detail and incisive criticism, Atkinson’s Crusade is an indispensable work.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“If you are going to read only one book about the Persian Gulf War, Crusade, because of its rich human detail and skillful writing, should be it.”

San Diego Union-Tribune

“Thrilling…Simply the best study to date of the Persian Gulf War.”

Detroit Free Press

“An engrossing account…Rich in pertinent details, the powerful narrative leaps nimbly from Washington to Riyadh.”

Publishers Weekly

“Jeff Riggenbach’s reading is well-suited for the material. Sounding much like one delivering a report, he varies his voice enough to keep the listener’s attention during this lengthy recording.” 

Library Journal

“Absorbing…offers fresh, often startling, perspectives…Military history of a very high order.”

Kirkus Reviews


Awards

  • Time Magazine's Best 100 English-Language Novels from 1923–2005