Camp Colt to Desert Storm

August 9, 1999
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.

August 1, 1999
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.--David M. Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY

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