“Tanks”, by Christopher Foss

 

400 pages, Greenwich Editions, ISBN-13: 978-0862886325

What’s not to love with this title? Tanks by Christopher Foss is…a book about tanks. I mean, why screw around with a lot of superfluous subtitles, right? I have several of this kind of book – more-or-less picture books for adult Armchair Generals – bought mostly when I was younger. Within are pictures and brief descriptions of tanks, both heavy and light, which have been used since they were introduced in World War I. The opening chapter gives a nice if not overly high-level review of tank development over the years before going on to list the countries that have produced tanks and the types of tanks they have created over the years. Not a lot of detail involved here, as, for the most part, there is a single picture and a short blurb covering the tank being covered. But again this book does not present itself as a detailed encyclopedia, but rather as a nice overview of what has taken place over the years in tank development. One minor quibble is that I wish Foss had given us an overview of how the tanks being studied had performed in combat when they had been so engaged; a comparison of just how these armored behemoths actually did their jobs would have made for interesting reading. But we mustn’t forget that this is but an introduction of the tanks that are out and about today, and I believe that you will come away surprised at the number of countries that are currently producing tanks. If you are looking for detailed specs on tanks or in-depth reviews of them then this book is not for you.