The invention of tanks in World War I brought a revolutionary new weapon to the battlefield; and the tank came of age in World War II at the cutting edge of Hitler's Blitzkreig. As the German Panzers threatened to overrun Europe; the Allies raced to give their own tanks ever better armament and protection; just as NATO vied with the Eastern Bloc for supremacy in the massive battleplans of the Cold War. What was it like to be a gunner in the Battle of the Bulge; the Eastern Front; the deserts of North Africa or the dusty plains of Iraq? From the Sherman and the Tiger to the Abrams M1; Battleground shows how tank crews dealt with the deafening noise and scorching heat of battle in control of tons of sophisticated killing machine. With real-life insights and detailed drawings; this book takes readers inside the greatest tanks ever developed in the most crucial duels of modern land warfare.
#228470 in Books Profile Books 2006Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.80 x .90 x 5.20l; .53 #File Name: 184668000X320 pagesGreat product!
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A Fascinating Glimpse into the Home FrontBy PetsoundsI read a lot about World War II; but I've never read anything quite like this diary; written by a scrappy middle-aged housewife in northern England; not for publication; but as part of a project in which several hundred women were asked to keep diaries to document daily life during the war. Nella Last's story is fascinating in its details; sometimes startling; of what it was like to try to keep home and family and community functioning normally during the war. Nella lived in a small city unfortunately adjacent to a major shipyard; so the town suffered bombings and extensive destruction and loss of life. Yet every day; she got up; assembled tasty meals out of her unbelievably meager rations; kept chickens; sewed and knitted for soldiers and evacuees; cooked food in a soldiers' canteen; ran a second-hand shop to benefit the Red Cross; and wrote long letters to her two sons. She did all of this without any modern conveniences--no fridge; central heating; dishwasher; computer; and eventually no car--but with much worry and anxiety; which she worked hard to conceal from those around her.I'm sure that thousands of other Englishwomen did the same; but I doubt that many of them could write as descriptively and touchingly as Nella Last. She says in her diary that she had always wanted to be writer. She was. This diary is a gem--a window into a kind of courage and pluck that is hard to imagine these days.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I felt like a boiled owl this morningBy cappy 245I felt like a boiled owl this morning. I am not wild about night fire watching as she goes on to describe about all the bombing that surrounded her last night. If you want a very clear picture of what it was like to live through the Second World War in England this is the book that will give you the sights; the smells and the very fear of what it was like to live through those days. The fear of not only losing your own life; but the lives of your family; your friends; and the soldiers that fought so bravely to protect them. The fear of losing your country was even more of a fear. This is the first of her Diaries . The second one was Nella Last's Peace the Post Far- War Diaries of Housewife #49; and Nella Last's in the 1950: The Further Diaries of Housewife number 49. She had always aspired to be a writer; but family pressures took over. She is indeed a terrific writer for she says more in just a few sentences than many of the history writers who just drone on and on. I can not tell you how thrilled I am to have discovered her writings. You will not be sorry if you buy her book for it will be a keepsake that you will not want let go of. Cappy2455 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Unexpectely wonderfulBy Karen J.I knew nothing of the Mass Observation program in England during the Second World War. This is as valuable a primary history source for Britain during World War II as the Slave Narratives are in the USA. Good reading; and fun; too. Lots of unexpected insights.
