- Author
- Michael Green
- ARRSE Rating
- 3 Mushroom Heads
This is a large paperback of 220 pages (plus space for notes at the back of the book). As would be expected from Pen & Sword's Images of War series, it is lavishly illustrated with large (half-page) black and white and colour photographs. Its coverage is US main battle tanks and armoured fighting vehicles 1949-1991. This includes both experimental vehicles and production models, from main battle tanks through medium and light tanks, infantry and cavalry combat vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles, amphibious craft, self-propelled guns and howitzers, rocket- and missile-armed vehicles and armoured anti-aircraft vehicles (full- and half-tracked).
To this reader the coverage appears to be comprehensive in scope, leaving depth to other publications. To supplement this, the book provides interesting comparisons with equivalent Soviet equipment. It has a useful foreword and notes to the reader, the main material being divided into four chapters: Early and Late Cold War Tanks (ch 1 and 2 respectively), Armed and Armoured Transports (ch 3) and finally Miscellaneous (ch 4).
Chapter 1 contains 10 pages of text and nearly 40 pages of photographs and subsequent chapters have a similar text to images balance. The text is clearly written and simple to follow. I would probably prefer more text - the extracts of combat reports and descriptions of battle doctrine were interesting - with photographs interspersed rather than text in a block and then a full block of photographs.
Alternatively perhaps there could be cross-references to the photographs in the text. Other books in this series have spent some time setting the military context, and although I appreciate that would be difficult for a book covering more than 40 years of Cold War, I feel it would have made for a richer reading experience.
Very much a tank enthusiast's book, with less in it for the general Cold War reader, it is nonetheless worth a look.
3 stars.
Amazon product
To this reader the coverage appears to be comprehensive in scope, leaving depth to other publications. To supplement this, the book provides interesting comparisons with equivalent Soviet equipment. It has a useful foreword and notes to the reader, the main material being divided into four chapters: Early and Late Cold War Tanks (ch 1 and 2 respectively), Armed and Armoured Transports (ch 3) and finally Miscellaneous (ch 4).
Chapter 1 contains 10 pages of text and nearly 40 pages of photographs and subsequent chapters have a similar text to images balance. The text is clearly written and simple to follow. I would probably prefer more text - the extracts of combat reports and descriptions of battle doctrine were interesting - with photographs interspersed rather than text in a block and then a full block of photographs.
Alternatively perhaps there could be cross-references to the photographs in the text. Other books in this series have spent some time setting the military context, and although I appreciate that would be difficult for a book covering more than 40 years of Cold War, I feel it would have made for a richer reading experience.
Very much a tank enthusiast's book, with less in it for the general Cold War reader, it is nonetheless worth a look.
3 stars.
Amazon product
