Tanks: A Century of Tank Warfare

For all the history buffs on warfare of the last century, Tanks is a perfect choice. This is a thin, small volume, yet it’s packed with fascinating information, mostly on tanks. But authors Oscar Gilbert and Romain Cansière also expand their very good, easy-to-read writing to all aspects of warfare. The book does not emphasize technical details but rather the history of tanks and other armored vehicles. They go all the way back to the Egyptian war chariot, the oldest ancestor of the tank, but truly start with the first practical Bohemian fighting vehicle dating to 1429. The first detailed chapter starts with the tanks of World War I and the first British functioning tank, continuing chapter by chapter through 1990 as Iraq conquered Kuwait in a three-day war. Most tanks were developed for three basic assets: mobility, armored protection, and striking power. Many useful and informative sidebars enhance your reading pleasure. You’ll read about scores of specific major and minor wars and conflicts during the past century. The last chapter discussing the present and future of tanks is fascinating. Considering that this is a visual subject, illustrations are rather few and appear as small black-and-white photos; they should’ve been full-page sized for the reader to better appreciate what they represent.