Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Kentucky History > Item 60
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Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces
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by George F. Hofmann and Donn A. Starry
Sales Rank: 107511
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$39.95
At Amazon
on 10-15-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 656 pages
Published by: University Press of Kentucky August 12, 1999
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0813121302
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0813121307
Book Dimensions:
9.5 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
Weighs: 2.7 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
No comprehensive account of U.S. armor doctrine, technology and practice has ever been written. This anthology takes a long step toward filling that gap. University of Cincinnati history professor Hoffmann (The Super Sixth) and retired general Starry (Mounted Combat in Vietnam) outline the synergies among political, operational and material factors that shape American approaches to the tank in battle. While the contributors all uphold high intellectual standards, the work would have been improved by a stronger defining concept and firmer editorial control. The Korean War is given almost as much text space as the WWII European theater. The chapters on the Patton, Abrams and Bradley systems focus on design and procurement in mind-numbing administrative detail. These, however, are minor problems in a book that boasts some of the best available analyses of mobile war as practiced by the U.S. At the top of the list is Christopher Gabel's essay on WWII armor operations in Europe, a model for its balanced evaluation of American strengths and weaknesses. Stephen Borque's analysis of armor in Desert Storm is also a masterful operational narrative. In back-to-back chapters, Dale Wilson and Tim Nenninger combine for an overview of American armor from 1917 to 1939. A definitive chronicle in one voice remains to be written, but this edited collection will stand as a valuable resource for military historians. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Editors Hofmann and Starry and 12 other contributors have produced an extensive yet quite readable study of the development and use of the tank by the American military. From its humble beginnings in World War I, the tank has played an important role in American military history. The contributors use their combined military expertise and trace the history of the armor from the tank's crudely effective role in World War I to the route of Iraq from Kuwait in Desert Storm. Here we find not just military history but an expert study of how a weapon of war, the tank, has interacted with political and other forces and evolved into its present form. Also discussed are the personalities and policies of our military and civilian leaders. Each chapter is written by a different author utilizing numerous sources and has a bibliography. All chapters combine into a cohesive and educational study. Recommended for academic and large public libraries and special collections.ADavid M. Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Reader Reviews
Three points about this volume are of particular positive interest. First, the editors decision to have contributors discuss not only history, but also doctrinal and technological development of American armor. This makes for a volume which will be of interest to both amateurs and professionals. Second, the choice of contributors could not, in my opinion, have been much better. Lastly, the inclusion of chapters dealing with the history and development of armor in the U.S. Marine Corps is an often overlooked area of discussion. In such an excellent volume, my criticisms are few, but relate to what the editors and the individual contributors have decided to exclude. For example, though there is a fine chapter on U.S. Army tank operations in Europe (Chapter 5), there is no corresponding chapter on U.S. Army tank operations in the Pacific. Instead, the editors have included a chapter on U.S. Marine Corps tank operations in the Pacific (Chapter 6). This decision is rather curious in that, at its peak strength, the U.S. Marine Corps only had 6 tank battalions and 6 amphibious tractor battalions (one of each per division), while the U.S. Army had 18 tank battalions, ten tank destroyer battalions, and 19 amphibious tank and tractor battalions, and a cavalry mechanized reconnaissance squadron in the Pacific. Unfortunately, this sort of omission might lead the amateur reader to believe that the U.S. Army's commitment to the Pacific War was so minuscule that it was not worth mentioning, which is absolutely not the case. Two other items received only scant mention in this volume - tank destroyers and the M113. While the whole concept of tank destroyers ultimately proved unsuccessful, the amount of resources devoted to them during the war certainly necessitates more discussion than the half dozen or so pages in this volume. The other odd omission is the M113 armored personal carrier. This venerable workhorse of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps from the 1950s to the 1980s, receives only scant mention, while the M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicle, a relative newcomer, receives much more extensive coverage.
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Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces
Available from Amazon
Price: $39.95
Updated on 10-15-2008.
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