M4 Sherman at War Paperback – February 15, 2007

I've become a big fan of the At War series and this one on the Sherman is no exception. I thought I had all of the material I needed since I have R.P. Hunnicutt's book on the Sherman. Wrong. Author Michael Green provides additional facts and detail regarding the development and use of the M-4 Sherman tank. The color photos of restored tanks, diagrams, cutaways and quotes from those WW2 tankers add greatly to the readers experience and understanding of this infamous tank of WW2.This book is perfect for anyone interested in Armor - new or veteran to the subject. Green explains how tanks work, what is involved in armored warfare and does so in an easy to understand format. I especially like the way the author explains not only what decisions were made, but why. It really boils down to this. In August of 1939, the US had no real tank force. By 1941, we had developed and began mass producing a medium tank that became second rate very quickly, but was just good enough to get the job done. Over 50,000 were produced by 1945. U.S. tankers paid for the lack of quality in blood. I would not have wanted to be in a Sherman.The Sherman was a war winner because of the vast quantities that were produced and variants enough to make self propelled guns, engineer vehicles and even infantry carriers. This book is a winner because of the text, excellent color photos, diagrams and the story behind the story. Not perfect for modelers, much more for armor historians and students.

While not perfect, this is a very good history of the M4 Sherman. Better use of photos and (more important) coordination of photos would have upped this to five stars in my opinion. For example, in many cases one model of tank is being discussed while all the photos show a completely different model. Very good use of diagrams, which ARE usually located on the correct page. Well worth the money, if you want perfection you'll be spending more.

When I was a boy during World War II and for years after, I had no idea how unequal were some of the tank battles between our Shermans and German armor. This is another of the excellent paperback books on the subject, and details on the development of the Sherman and its strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield are described here with clear photographs, excellent diagrams and understandable text. Even the famous Russian T34 tank, developed earlier than the Sherman, had better armor, better mobility and a more potent main gun. True, the Sherman medium tank, at about 35 tons, was shipped to Europe (and also saw use in the Pacific), in large numbers and saw some success when it approached enemy armor from the correct position and at ranges close enough so that its 75 mm. gun could score a kill. But German tanks could disable or knock out our Shermans at ranges of 1000 meters or more, often leaving them as flaming wrecks (thus the term Ronsons - after the famous cigarette lighter). Give much credit to our tank men of that war who still managed to accomplish the successes that helped bring the war to a close. Very enjoyable reading; recommended.

Military historian Michael Green in collaboration with James D. Brown, has written yet another fine book that details the history of the M4 Sherman tank. Green meticulously follows the tank from its origins to its leading role in helping all the allies defeat the axis powers during WW-2. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of this legendary tank in great detail. The book is well stocked with illustrations and never before seen photo's of the tank and its crew mwmbers who so proudly served in battle. The Sherman was clearly not the best tank of the war, but its reliablity, adaptability, longevity and its overwhelming numbers made the M4 Sherman the greatest tank ever built. A must read for the budding military historian or that special grandfather who just may have served inside the mighty Sherman tank.

This is a book about the M4 tank. There are hardly any picture of the tank "at war". If you are looking for war time photos, check out the author Steven Zaloga.

One of the best M-4 books available.

The M4 series medium tank, commonly known by its British-applied nickname of "Sherman", was one of the most important weapons of the Allied ground effort in WW2. The Sherman started as one of the best tanks in the desert when introduced in North Africa, but soon fell behind German tanks in guns and armor. This was because US doctrine didn't emphasize tanks fighting other tanks, but the German doctrine saw the tank as the primary anti-tank weapon. While not a great tank killer, the Sherman was available in large numbers, not only for US forces but for many Allied nations. It also proved itself quite an adaptable design, with room for growth and was able to serve a number of special roles that were never even envsioned when the tank was originally designed.This soft cover book covers much of the technical developments of the Sherman tanks. Mr. Green uses many period photos, plus views from restored tanks to illustrate the many changes and variations in the Sherman's design. He looks at the tank in the context of actual useage. He also touches on the US tank crews, one of the secrets of the Shermans ultimate success in battle.For the money this book is a good investment in the basics of the Shermans design and use. Very useful to military historians, wargamers, model builders and tank buffs.

A fascinating comparison of two armored vehicles of the Second World War. Although the German Panther tank is superior on paper, and widely regarded as the superior tank, the Sherman's reliability and battlefield utility actually made it a far more effective vehicle. A must read for modelers and historians alike.

This book was recommended by other reviewers here on Amazon and I do as well nice easy read with all you would generally want to know about one of the most famous of tanks top score

This is a highly readible book on the technical parts of the US Sherman M4 medium tank family. After a short description of the development history and different base types (M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4 and M4A6) the different technical parts from the wheel suspension to the main-gun and their respective use are described. You get an idea which levers and pedals the driver has to pull turn the tank to the left or the gunner pushes to fire the gun. The technical descriptions are supported by many pictures of the outside but also very clear pictures of the inside of the tank. Also a number of grafics help to understand what is described in the text. So this is not only a book for people interested in the Sherman tank but also for peolple who want to understand how the different parts of a tank work and how they are operated.If you happened to assemble a model kit of the Sherman tank which contains also interior parts (like the late Bandai 1/48 models) you now can better understand wha the differen cylinders and boxes are about.The technical descriptions are suplemented by short statements from US tankers having operated the Sherman in World War II and by short evaluations which compare the respective part to technical alternatives and occasionally the corresponding part of the German Panther and Tiger tanks.For me this book has only 2 minor deficiencies:1. The description of different engines and rear hulls of the A1, A2, A3, A4 and A6 types could have been a bit more detailed and supported by grafics2. The "at war" part of the main title is a little misleading, as the main scope of the book is the description of the technical parts and not of the Sherman's performance in the war. The latter is more of a complement.In total this is a hihgly recommendable, interesting book and for a "technical" book surprisingly thrilling. The Sherman as a great and beloved tank in spite of its deficiencies and all the errors made throughout its development. So the 5 stars are well earned.

Not the best book I have read on the Sherman tank. The book concentrates far too much on US Army models and as such does not give a really good overview of the Sherman Tanks widespread service and use with other nations. Nor does it cover in any detail the 17 Pounder Firefly conversion nor the Israeli upgrades. There are better books on the market.