"Panzers At War" by Michael Green... (1 Viewer)

[binder001]

Anybody who's been watching this forum knows that I am a notorious "GI freak". However, one must understand the "other guy" to create scenes, and I enjoy a good tank book. So I took my Christmas gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and on impulse grabbed a copy of the recent "Panzers at War" by Michael and Gladys Green. This is a 128-page soft cover book from Zenith Press (an MBI subsidiary) in 2005 and retails for about $20 USD. "Panzers at War" is about the German tanks of WW2, not about the units or how the battles. The book is divided into chapters on light tanks, medium tanks, Panther tanks and heavy tanks. Emphasis is on production models that saw active combat with the Panzer forces. One curious omission was the little Czech 38t that saw significant service in the first couple years of the war. This book is about the tanks, only brief mentions are made about the numerous tracked assault guns, armored tank destroyers and open-top SP guns, presumably they will get their own volume(s) later. The author mixes wartime photos with current photos of museum or restored tanks, many of those in full color. A great many interior view will be helpful to the modeler. The text covers design development and combat useage. There are numerous quotes from German, American and British veterans as well as technical intelligence reports. The book is an "easy read".

For $20 "Panzers at War" will provide enjoyable reading, give the reader a basic knowledge of Germany's primary battle tanks and give the modeler inspiration. I found the Panther photos useful for when I want to show a derilict Panther beside the road full of advancing GIs. The details shown will help me add a few bits to the interior to take away the empty look of FoV and 21C Panther models.

Gary Binder

 

[bsager]

Gary,

I just got this book 2 days agao and have not read it yet. I browsed through it and it looks very informative. Should be a good read.

Bill Sager

 

[Fullyautomatic]

I'll have to check that one out. Here are a couple of my favourites which were recommended to me by George at Minuteman.
Steel Storm and Steel Rain by Tim Ripley-German tank warfare on the Eastern and Western fronts.
The Panzers and the Battle of Normandy-G. Bernage- great reference book with lots of pic's.
It Never Snows in September-Robert J Kershaw- the German view of Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem Sept 1944
I finally got to putting some of my books on display to.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi All,

Let me add a few titles for you all to consider. I have all of these in my personal collection and I am sorry to say that some of them are out of print but I see them on ebay and Abebooks site so I know they are available.

Both Books by Robert Crisp: The Gods were Neutral THis is about the Tank fight in Greece and the lower Balkans and his other more well known Brazen Chariots which is his account of the fighting in North Africa. Also I would recommend Ken Touts books Tanks Advance To Hell with Tanks Keith Douglas wrote Alamein to Zem Zem which was a very good account of North Africa also. These are all good books from the British point of view. For a Greman point of view and for one of the best collections of photos in publication I highly recommend Heinrich Engel's book 7000 Kilometers in a Sturmgeschutz Also any of Bryan Perretts books are good reading especially if you can find some of the older titles like Tank Tracks to Rangoon or his Armor in Action books like The Matilda or Iron Fist . Also I would recommend any of James Lucas's books as well as Kenneth Macksey's books.

Another recent Tank Warfare book that was an interesting read was Death Traps By Belton Cooper this came out a few years ago and is a good look at an American Armored Division. I would also recommend Another River, Another Town by John Irwin its an interesting look at the very end of the war and the battle debut of the M-26 Pershing.

This is a drop in the bucket for my personal library which is as you may have guessed Armored Warfare heavy with a lot of Cavalry sprinkled in and of course the Napoleonic Wars to which I have just added Mark Urbans book on the 95th Rifles called of course Rifles Still reading this one so the vote is not in yet but it is pretty good so far...

Anyway I hope that some of you will read some of these and if you have then we can discuss them.

Dave

 

[binder001]

I agree that "Death Traps" is a fine book, just beware that Belton Cooper goes awry in many technical areas. His info on tank development in the US is badly distorted when compared to researchers who have used Army records from the National Archives. Coopers recollections of the horror of war in Europe more than make up for the inaccuracies. He was right there and remebers a lot of what he saw. For technical developments get the ten volume engineering histories of US Armor done by Dick Hunnicutt, the books that Steve Zaloga has done for Osprey in the last five or so years, and especially the book "Faint Praise" by Baily.

For a really good read about US tanks in Europe find a copy of "Hell Has No Heroes", originally published as "Barbara" in about 1951. The author, Wayne Robinson, was in the 743rd Tank Battalion and used his and his unit's experiences to guide the writing of the novel.

Just a few suggestions for US stuff.

Gary

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi All,

I will also agree with the assessment of Coopers book it is a good read from the troopers perspective but like you said he is a little biased. There are a lot of good books out there that are heavily technical, Richard Ogorkiewicz 2 volumn set called the Technology of Tanks is absolutely loaded with information for the techno geeks and insomniacs out there. I also have heard that Hunnicutts series of books is a treasure trove of techno info.

If you want to read about more recent tank fights pick up any of the books on the Arab Israeli Wars or if Vietnam is your subject area there are a few books out there like Ringed in Steel or Armored Combat in Vietnam or Tank Sergeant These are all good books on the limited use of Armor in the Jungles of Vietnam. There are also some books that are hitting the shelf now about the fight in Iraq. So there is a lot more to look at and talk about out there.

Enjoy!

Dave