Customer Reviews

M4 Sherman at War

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New from Zenith Press is writer Michael Green's fourth book in their At War series, M4 Sherman at War. This work is one of the best of the series and handles the development of this iconic bit of Americana in a popular, accessable style. This book differs from Green's previous work on the Sherman (now out of print) in that it draws the reader into the tank. Ample color photos, color cut-away diagrams and "previously unpublished" pictures, along with first hand accoutns of tank operations by WWII vets, will put the reader firmly in the drivers seat/loaders seat/etc... Of course, the book also highlights the development of the tank prior to the M4 and continues through the Korean War. The only thing I'd wished it would have covered was the Sherman in the Arab-Israeli Wars, but perhaps this topic will be covered in an upcoming "At War" book. All in all, this volume is a steal at Amazon.com prices, a must have for gamers and modelers.

The M4 Sherman is THE American tank of the Second World War, seeing service in all theaters of war and being operated by a number of Allied units. That being said, the Sherman was a badly designed tank that was never the equal of its German contemporaries. That Sherman crews accomplished so much says more about their courage and steadfastness rather than the quality of the tank they manned.

The Sherman went to war an under-gunned, under-armoured and under-powered tank whose boxy, too-tall silhouette provided German tank and anti-tank gunners easy opportunities for kills. In a rare, pre-war blunder Chief of Staff George Marshall decided the M4's main mission was to be a weapon of explotation rather than a slayer of enemy tanks. The newly created tank destroyers were tasked with that duty. Yet realistically how could a Sherman crew pick and choose its opponents in a combat situation? Nevertheless Marshall, aided by General Lesley McNair, pushed through this doctrine and Sherman crews went to war in a seriously flawed design.

Green and Brown do an excellent job of documenting the Sherman's flawed beginnings, the seemingly endless - and usually unsuccessful - attempts to upgrade the basic design and its armament along with the stateside struggles between various Army bureacracies that hindered production of the best possible design.

Likewise in describing and illustrating the tank, its various components, and combat record, the authors do a bang-up job. The book is packed with photos, cutaways, profiles and digrams, many in color along with dozens of wartime photos and contemporary acccounts of the M4 in action.

All in all, a comprehensive, insightful, well-illustrated, and entertaining guide to a a combat legend. And only $19.95!

Recommended!

Military historian Michael Green in collaboration with James D. Brown, has written yet another fine book that details the history of the M4 Sherman tank. Green meticulously follows the tank from its origins to its leading role in helping all the allies defeat the axis powers during WW-2. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of this legendary tank in great detail. The book is well stocked with illustrations and never before seen photo's of the tank and its crew mwmbers who so proudly served in battle. The Sherman was clearly not the best tank of the war, but its reliablity, adaptability, longevity and its overwhelming numbers made the M4 Sherman the greatest tank ever built. A must read for the budding military historian or that special grandfather who just may have served inside the mighty Sherman tank.

The M4 series medium tank, commonly known by its British-applied nickname of "Sherman", was one of the most important weapons of the Allied ground effort in WW2. The Sherman started as one of the best tanks in the desert when introduced in North Africa, but soon fell behind German tanks in guns and armor. This was because US doctrine didn't emphasize tanks fighting other tanks, but the German doctrine saw the tank as the primary anti-tank weapon. While not a great tank killer, the Sherman was available in large numbers, not only for US forces but for many Allied nations. It also proved itself quite an adaptable design, with room for growth and was able to serve a number of special roles that were never even envsioned when the tank was originally designed.

This soft cover book covers much of the technical developments of the Sherman tanks. Mr. Green uses many period photos, plus views from restored tanks to illustrate the many changes and variations in the Sherman's design. He looks at the tank in the context of actual useage. He also touches on the US tank crews, one of the secrets of the Shermans ultimate success in battle.

For the money this book is a good investment in the basics of the Shermans design and use. Very useful to military historians, wargamers, model builders and tank buffs.

Military specialty libraries strong on World War II history won't want to miss M4 Sherman At War, a survey of a tank which played a key role in every aspect of the battles, enabling the Allies to manufacture enough units to overwhelm the superior German tanks they faced. The design and employment of a tank which beat the odds is reviewed in chapters packed with vintage black and white photos, cut-away diagrams, and historical and design facts: a fascinating, involving read.

I received M4 Sherman at War by Michael Green following my readings of two other Green books (M1 Abrams and HMMWV). All of these books provide a great balance of the practical (stories of how the the vehicles were developed and used, to actual war stories) and the technical (the real nuts and bolts of what makes them tick). Having served on the M1A1 and the HMMWV ("humvee") I really enjoyed reading these books and even learned a few things I didn't know. But I really enjoyed "M4" and would strongly recommend it to any history buff, but especially to the children and grandchildren of World War Two tankers.

When I was a boy during World War II and for years after, I had no idea how unequal were some of the tank battles between our Shermans and German armor. This is another of the excellent paperback books on the subject, and details on the development of the Sherman and its strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield are described here with clear photographs, excellent diagrams and understandable text. Even the famous Russian T34 tank, developed earlier than the Sherman, had better armor, better mobility and a more potent main gun. True, the Sherman medium tank, at about 35 tons, was shipped to Europe (and also saw use in the Pacific), in large numbers and saw some success when it approached enemy armor from the correct position and at ranges close enough so that its 75 mm. gun could score a kill. But German tanks could disable or knock out our Shermans at ranges of 1000 meters or more, often leaving them as flaming wrecks (thus the term Ronsons - after the famous cigarette lighter). Give much credit to our tank men of that war who still managed to accomplish the successes that helped bring the war to a close. Very enjoyable reading; recommended.

While not perfect, this is a very good history of the M4 Sherman. Better use of photos and (more important) coordination of photos would have upped this to five stars in my opinion. For example, in many cases one model of tank is being discussed while all the photos show a completely different model. Very good use of diagrams, which ARE usually located on the correct page. Well worth the money, if you want perfection you'll be spending more.

You will be pleased by this book- generous amount of good pictures on this famous WWII battle tank. I found the coverage of the variants and production very useful. To top it all off the price is excellent!

"M4 Sherman at War" is another impressive book from Michael Green. As is usually the case, this new book is easy to read, full of color and black and white photographs, and is very informative. This book will be an important addition to anyone's military library.