El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide: No. 158 (Campaign) Paperback – Illustrated, 10 Sept. 2005

Excellent book with a terrific amount of background material to the battle. The maps and description of the battle are excellent. A group of guys I war game with used this book as source material to war game operation supercharge. We had 12 players and a great days fun. The Brits and Commonwealth troops did not break through. So I can say excellent material for wargamers.

The Osprey series if well known for its excellent format - crisp narrative, clear analysis and excellent graphics. Ken Ford who has done several titles for Osprey is good at this and really knows his material. Ford weaves the story of the campaign, the men and machines and the strategic decisions into a clear pattern. He is able to articulate clearly the impact of the campaign and its future significance whilst not underplaying that El Alamein only became a major turning point much later. A good book

Another Excellent Osprey book. This one provides an interesting and informative overview of the Battle of El Alamein in 1942. Well illustrated with black and white photographs, and colour drawings and maps. Sold at a good price and delivered as scheduled.

This series of books provide a good tactical overview of the battles in question, which I feel is lacking in other sources which concentrate more on the personal experiences of the soldiers involved at the expense of the bigger picture.

This volume of Osprey’s ‘Campaign’ series is another excellent account of the final stage in the Western Desert campaignThe narrative itself is clear, informative and just detailed enough to cover all the important points, with glimpses here and there of the men on the ground and their experiences, maintaining a good balance and not interrupting the flow of the narrative.The maps give an excellent picture of the confused activity on the ground, so that you can see clearly what the combatants were trying to do and what they actually did.The supporting illustrations are well-chosen and illustrate/complement the narrative very well.

Interesting book, though there are some problems with the printing and tone of the photographs.

Very nice

Whilst this is a clear and concise account of the three battles fought around El Alamein in 1942 it is not a particularly engaging read. Ken Ford is one of the better authors in Osprey's stable and has done fine work on the British and Canadian operations in Normandy and NW Europe. Now lined up to cover the remaining Western Desert campaigns, this is the first of his offerings. The disappointment with this book is that it has too much to do in the 96 pages that Osprey allows for their `Campaign' series. The more famous Second Battle of Alamein is complex enough to warrant a stand-alone book, yet here it has to share space with the First Alamein and Alam Halfa. The net result is something that isn't entirely satisfactory, especially the quality of the maps and battle plans which are not up to the standard expected. On the plus side, the original artwork battle scenes are some of the best seen for a long time.One has to question the thinking of the Osprey commissioning editors (and I do via their web site) in deciding to tackle this campaign in reverse order. Tobruk 1941 was published in January 2001 which had its self followed on from Op. Compass. Rather than pick up where they left off, Osprey have decided to publish El Alamein, then Gazala and then Op. Crusader. It is unclear whether we will see a book on the Mareth Line 1943 as these lesser known battles tend to drop off the radar leaving annoying gaps in the series. I am certain it would have helped these accounts flow together better if they had been covered them in chronological order which could have avoided the need for so much `set-up' at the beginning of each edition, thereby leaving more space for coverage of the main events.Overall I'd only recommend to collectors and to those wanting an introduction to these battles.