Tanks: 100 years of evolution

Professor Richard Ogorkiewicz has been active in the field of tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles far longer than I have lived and I am retired! He is actually 89 years old 2015 and in his CV you will find among everything that he once worked together with Sir Basil Liddel Hart! There are few people in this field that has such a reputation and background as Professor Ogorkiewicz. He has now published "Tanks 100 Years of Evolution" that is probably his last book on the subject. It was impossible not to get it and read.Usually I do not buy books about tanks that are trying to cover the whole field. Having a rather large library on the subject I am looking for far more specialized books since there are so many books written for the beginners in the field. But this one was interesting because first of all it was written by Professor Ogorkiewicz and secondly it is sometimes interesting to take a step back and look at the overall picture.The Book covers tank development in the whole world from the late 1800 to a few years ago. Taking on such a huge field can be very difficult but in this case the book is a very good example of how it is done when it is done right. It was a pure joy to read from page one and to the end. Very often you will stop and reflect on various tanks that you might not have thought about for a very long time.It is easy for various writers when you write about tanks to list the general data for the tank like weight and armament and then leave it at that. But with the knowledge that Professor Ogorkiewicz has you get information that is hard to find. Examples of how the tank was to operate and what components that failed and made the tank a problem for the crew or what made it work better than expected. With his contacts and background he was often involved as an advisor in designing tanks and that means you have to have technical knowledge on everything from tracks to gun power.For me the highlights of the book came in the appendixes. Here he writes about system components and their history. Here are data that are sometimes impossible to find and it makes you think that this is not only an summary but also a book you will return to since the data is so hard to find in other sources.There are some pictures and of course you wish for more. The Number of photos in the book do not support the huge amount of different tanks in the text but having illustrations for everyone would have made this a far larger and far more expensive project.There are a few mistakes concerning some details and the wonderful typo of the weight of the Tiger tank (570 tons!) but it does not devalue the book.I would have loved to see the book as a 3000 pages bible but at 300 it is still a great product. I am very glad that Professor Ogorkiewicz has made the effort to once again share his huge knowledge.For everyone interested in the field, this is one of the books you should read.

There are many books that offer an overview of tank history and development, but this one is written by one of the paramount experts in his field, and it shows.This is an authoritative book (the author has met many of the key personalities), insights abound, and no more so than in the appendices where he reviews and summarises the major issues that face all tank developers: Gun power, protection and mobility. Whilst the bulk of the book is an summary history of tank development, the appendices provide the framework that allows the reader to appreciate why many tank design decisions came out the way they did.Well written, authoritative, insightful; if you have any interest in tanks then this should be on your reading list.

Great Primer if you know little about the development of tanks, nothing new if you are already fairly well read on the subject.

Xmas present, compact but full of info

Well written, informative and (perhaps surprisingly) a real page turner. Definately a great grounding in the subject.The photos dont really add much, but the clear and punchy prose is a real plus.

Ogorkiewicz cannot be faulted for his subject knowledge. He covers the history of tanks then has separate chapters dedicated to the development of main armament, engines and armour. However, after a while I felt I was getting too bogged down in the finer details being described of the immense variety and designs of tanks throughout the twentieth century. I began skipping from this book to others on my Kindle just for a rest and some light relief. The biggest problem I has was that all the illustrations were at the end of each 'era' i.e., there was nothing until the end of WW2, so I found myself frequently reaching for my tablet in order to see what any particular tank looked like, especially as with the variety included; pilot models, one off failures etc., they sounded interesting. This may be the way that it has to be laid out for the Kindle format, but it does become irritating. A very learned tome, but one for the dedicated armour buff.

The book was for a present,and he really enjoys reading it!!

Fascinating history, almost too technical