It is ironic that the weapon which has dominated land warfare for two generations past originated in the comparatively humane aim of breaking the deadlock on the First World War Western Front without incurring the enormous casualties which had resulted from British attempts to do so with masses of unprotected infantry. From this era the present work takes its starting point. Though certainly encyclopedic in content, it is not encyclopedic in form. It consists of a chronological narrative of tank development, broken up from time to time by boxes giving the main particulars, and scale drawings, of the more important tank designs (though in two cases the caption to the drawing does not appear to represent the tank described in the text). There are also numerous photographs, some in colour. Every design ever built is included, not just those which actually entered service, but experimental models, too: it was, for instance, perhaps fortunate for the United States Army that the Bolt Three‐Wheeled Steam Tank never went beyond a prototype. But as a general rule the self‐propelled guns and armoured personnel carriers which ill‐informed journalists often mistake for tanks have been left out.
The author, who has written no less than 100 books on military affairs, has the ability to discuss his subject intelligibly without overwhelming the lay reader with technical language. He can thus analyse the military requirements which obliged the various designs to take the form they did, and the quite numerous cases in which a tank that appeared excellent in terms of its basic characteristics was actually unsuccessful because of some less obvious mechanical fault, or because it was employed in a way which did not take advantage of its qualities.
The body of the original edition of 1994 seems to have been left quite unchanged, and the revision consists of about 20 new pages that discuss recent developments. While the text is revised up to 2002, it is a pity that this section is not as well illustrated as the original work, and in particular lacks the scale drawings that are such a feature. The author explains that in the last few years Western experts have come to doubt whether the tank can retain its dominance in the age of armed helicopters and precision‐guided missiles and have consequently slowed its development, whereas Russia, mindful of her history, has not taken this view. He has added an appendix detailing the organization of the armoured divisions of the belligerents during the Second World War (but not since then) and an index. We may hope that one day, the influence of more peaceably‐orientated international organizations will render books such as this mere historical reference works. Until that day dawns, however, libraries which wish their readers to be well informed about current world affairs will continue to have a need for new editions.
