Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Starting points -- Opening salvos -- Mussolini's mistake -- A change of plan -- Rommel to the rescue -- Dangerous diversions -- Trouble at home and away -- A fightback fails -- A new broom in the desert -- Auchinleck stands firm -- The tables are turned -- Roosevelt joins the fray -- The Desert Fox goes hunting -- Trouble at the top -- Deadlock -- Stretched to breaking point -- The worst of times -- The Americans come good -- The auk's last stand -- Enter Montgomery -- Montgomery makes his mark -- Churchill feels the pressure -- Into the breach -- 'An unforgettable nightmare' -- The end of the beginning -- The beginning of the end.