Mark Bouman recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, Neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail in this memoir. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific, all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness.
'I thought Tank Men was a triumph ...it is a really fine piece of work' - Richard Holmes 'Some of the eye witness accounts Kershaw has collected for this comprehensive review of tank warfare have the power to chill the reader to the bone. This is warfare at the sharp end' --NOTTINGHAM EVENING POST The First World War saw the birth of an extraordinary fighting machine that has fascinated three generations: the tank. In Tank Men, ex-soldier and military historian Robert Kershaw brings to life the grime, the grease and the fury of a tank battle through the voices of ordinary men and women who lived and fought in those fearsome machines. Drawing on vivid, newly researched personal testimony from the crucial battles of the First and Second World Wars, this is military history at its very best.
In the tradition of The Glass Castle and Angela’s Ashes comes the most unforgettable memoir you’ll read this year! “What did it mean to be the Tank Man’s son? To grow up overwhelmed by my father’s presence and personality? It was as if I didn’t exist, as if I was just something else for my father to crush.” So begins the haunting memoir of Mark Bouman as he recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, Neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific—all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness. An epic tale of redemption and reconciliation, The Tank Man’s Son is a literary tour de force that is sure to become an instant classic.
Colorful and spellbinding, this is the combat autobiography of Sergeant Ralph "Zippo" Zumbro and the rarely told story of tank warfare in Vietnam. Zumbro's unit was the most highly decorated of the war, and his story is gripping reading for those interested in the Vietnam war and military nonfiction.
The Silver Star–awarded marine chronicles his service in Iraq in this “transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences” (Ralph Peters, Lt. Col., ret., author of Looking For Trouble). In April, 2003, an AP photographer captured a striking image seen around the world of Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Though immortalized in that moment as “The Cigar Marine,” Popaditch’s fighting was far from over. The following year, he fought heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffered grievous head wounds that left him legally blind and partially deaf. But he faced the toughest fight of his life when he returned home: the battle to remain the man and Marine he was. At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity and help his brothers in arms. Then, following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way—the Marine way—because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.
The most famous tank of World War II, the Tiger was a monster of a machine that dominated the battlefields of Europe and beyond. Originally conceived in response to the German Army's experience fighting British tanks in western Europe and North Africa, the Tiger cemented its reputation of near invincibility during the savage battles of the Eastern Front. This is a complete illustrated guide to one of the world's most famous fighting vehicles, exploring its history, its strengths and weaknesses and its combat performance as it duelled against the best the Allies had to give. Drawing on a wealth of research, detailed illustrations and contemporary photographs, this book reveals how this remarkable tank became an icon of military history.
