Near the beginning of the book, Atkinson argues that popular discussions around World War II tend to emphasize the Allies' 1944 invasion of Normandy Beach at the expense of the North African campaign of 1942 and 1943. This, Atkinson argues, is unfortunate: "No twenty-first-century reader can understand the ultimate triumph of the Allied powers in World War II in 1945 without a grasp of the large drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943" (2). Not only does Atkinson consider North Africa an inflection point in the broader war effort, he also considers it "a pivot point in American history, the place where the United States began to act like a great power—militarily, diplomatically, strategically, tactically" (3). He adds that the North African campaign "is where Great Britain slipped into the role of junior partner in the Anglo-American alliance, and where the United States first emerged as the dominant force it would remain into the next millennium" (3).

His thesis is supported by Great Britain’s and the United States' respective experiences during World War I. By the time of World War II, he argues, the United States had yet to be tested—militarily, industrially, nor diplomatically—in the era of modern war.