Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day [Hardcover]

Chris Foss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2003

This superb reference volume records the history of the most significant tanks that have seen service around the world. The book begins with the World War I era tanks, such as the British Mk 1, that attempted to break the deadlock of the Western Front. It then examines major tanks that emerged during the interwar period. All the celebrated World War II tanks are featured, including the PzKpfw VI Tiger, the M4 Sherman and the T-34. Finally, it surveys the incredible tanks of the postwar era, including the M48, the Merkava and T-54/-55.The text provides succinct information on the design, development, and combat performance of all the tanks featured. Entries are arranged by the year in which a tank first saw service. An introductory chapter presents an in-depth analysis of the development, production, and deployment of tanks.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

• 512 pages with entries on 100 tanks
• Rare historical and dramatic contemporary photographs accompanied by superb color artwork
• A highly illustrated analysis of the world’s most significant tanks from World War I to the present day
• A comprehensive reference work that will win a favored place on the bookshelves of weapons enthusiasts and those interested in military history

About the Author

David Miller is a highly respected author of more than 35 internationally successful books on weapons and warfare. A former British Army officer, with extensive service in Europe, the Falklands, and the Far East, he was a staff journalist on the prestigious International Defense Review, was Editor of Jane’s Major Surface Warships, and has contributed to many specialist defense journals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press (January 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760314756
• ISBN-13: 978-0760314753
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good pictures, but text is not so good, May 15, 2005

By 

Jukka-pekka Hietaniemi (Finland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day (Hardcover)

I bought this book online after reading Salamander's Great book of modern warplanes (fighters), which looked very good and comprehensive book with many good pictures and carefully researched text. This book's concept is quite the same, but there are very little of text. Best about this book are its pictures, which are fabulous. Most of the book photographs are never-seen or at least very rarely seen. Also pictures are very clear and professionally printed with many details. Printing is quality paper and book is very readable.

Book covers most of the important tank design from ww1 to this day, showing pictures and some technical data from each tank.
The book maybe little biased to British readers and British tanks have got quite a many pages in the book, but it doesn't bother that much.

However,what i didn't like about this book was that it contains many little errors and mistakes in the text. These includes typo errors ( which there are quite many, especially in numbers) and writers errors. Author seems to handle British and US tank designs very well and information seems to be correct. But text about Russian and German tanks includes some bigger errors, which could have been easily deleted with better source verification.

The book really doesn't contain very much text for a 512p big book, which is quite a dissapointment for those who want to get deeper view to tank designs. But on the other hand book is very easy to read and suits also for people with very little tank acknowledge. So this book is easy to pick up for reading and it's illustrations make you read it couple of hours without bored.

I'll definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in armor and tank warfare history. Those who want more deeply researched and more "academic" information this book is good too, thanks to it's outstanding pictures.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Big Beautiful Book, February 24, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day (Hardcover)

Sub-Title: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day

As the title says, this is a big book, 500+ pages that are nine and a half by twelve and a half inches. Lots of color pictures, lots of pictures showing the tanks in action.

The author, a former British Army officer clearly knows his tank history. He pulls out some very obscure details about the various models, the troubles that model gave when it was new and far more.

In the book the tanks are listed in the order in which they entered service. The last tank mentioned is the British Challenger that began service in 1991. This implies that no new tanks have been designed in fourteen years. To be sure, there have been upgrades, and he discusses these in some depth, but no new ones.

I didn't count them, but I'd guess that the book covers about a hundred different tanks. Of course it begins with the World War I developments and it spends a lot of time on the World War II designs. It's one of the more complete books I've seen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photos make up for the lack of technical detail., October 20, 2006

By 

Reuben Gathright "rgathright" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day (Hardcover)

The photos of tanks in action are superb. However the brief technical description of the tanks leaves you with more questions than answers as you read the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for historical photos of tanks. Look somewhere else if you want a detailed reference on tanks.