I recently saw the movie Fury (directed by David Ayer and starring Brad Pitt) about a Sherman M4 tank and its crew during the Second World War. What intrigued me was how the crew worked in such a confined space so I bought the book. A big photo of the Sherman is shown on pages eighty-six and seven but turn over the page and I found twenty-six interior photos (all captioned). I think showing interior photos of several tanks (out of four hundred featured) is one of the strengths of the book.
Dorling-Kindersley has done their excellent presentation with this title (and it puts to shame most other publishers of image-driven books) and it's worth noting the title: a visual history. The contents are not descriptions of great tank battles or personal reminiscences of tank crews but page after page of photos (nicely as cutouts) revealing tanks through past decades. Each has some brief technical details and a few words of background about the vehicle. Missing, I found, were any measurements and some tanks are impressively huge.
I liked the fourteen pages at the back of the book, looking at the tanks' evolution, engines, tracks and suspension, firepower, protection, anti-tank weapons and uniforms. These pages are followed by a glossary and index. DK's tank book is a fascinating look at a unique bit of military kit.
No comments:
Post a Comment