In this episode, we discuss:
*The role that Rick’s father played in his son's interest in the US Army and military history
*The role that Rick’s time living in Germany had in his decision to write about World War II
*Rick’s interest in a career in the Army and his declined appointment to West Point
*What led Rick to leave the Washington Post to pursue military history
*What Rick means when he calls himself “a recovering journalist”
*What led Rick to writing Crusade, his book on the Persian Gulf War, and some of the challenges he encountered in researching and writing along the way
*Some of the surprises Rick learned while writing Crusade
*How Rick came to write his third book, In the Company of Soldiers
*The story behind how Rick got embedded with David Petraeus and the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom-1
*Rick’s experiences of witnessing a full-scale invasion of another country
*What it was like to watch Dave Petraeus command the 101st Airborne Division
*Rick’s observations of the Iraqi forces
*What a military historian learns from embedding with a combat unit, and how this affected Rick’s subsequent military history writing
*The American and German ‘ways of war’ in World War II
*Rick’s thoughts on the US 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Infantry Division in the war in Europe
*Rick’s take on US Army General Mark Clark
*The contentious relationship between Eisenhower and Montgomery
*Why Rick hasn’t written on the Pacific Theater and some of the historical actors, battles, and topics from that theater that interest him
*Rick’s experience researching and writing The British Are Coming
*George Washington as a tactical and operational commander
*The similarities between Eisenhower and Washington
*Washington as a kvetcher in his private correspondence
*Where the phrase “win hearts and minds” comes from
*Rick’s process for starting a book
*Rick’s use of outlines
*The cartographer for Rick’s books
*Rick’s lack of writer’s block
*Rick’s take on the state of military history today
*Why some journalists turn to writing military history
*Rick’s thoughts on professional military education, especially as it pertains to junior leaders
*Why all service members should know where their branch comes from
*Rick’s advice on getting started on professional military reading
Links
The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/British-Are-Coming-Lexington-Revolution/dp/1627790438
The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson: http://liberationtrilogy.com
In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Company-Soldiers-Chronicle-Combat/dp/0805077731
Crusade by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Crusade-Untold-Story-Persian-Gulf/dp/0395710839
The Long Gray Line by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Long-Gray-Line-American-Journey/dp/080509122X
Errata
Towards the end of the interview, while Rick and I discussed journalists who had turned to writing military history, Rick mentioned The Guns at Last Light when he meant to say Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August. I missed the slip as well.