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For Montgomery, the year and a half he spent as Commander of the Eighth Army from August 1942 to December 1943 was in many respects the most interesting period of his long career. It is certainly the richest in terms of the historical evidence flowing from his own pen. Montgomery's contemporary record, which forms the basis of this book, is exceptionally full and characteristically forthright. It provides a fascinating commentary on the Eighth Army’s operations, seen through the Army Commander's eyes, and unique insights into the thinking which lay behind Montgomery's decisions, his views on leadership and the lessons of the campaign.This volume is the definitive published source of Montgomery’s diaries, letters and other papers at this time, and contains all the significant documents with full explanatory notes. It is an essential reference work for those studying the Allied campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and for the general reader too, Montgomery’s frank and often controversial expressions of opinion will ensure that this is a book of absorbing interest.