In the broad spectrum of books about armor, this is an unusual one: it takes the reader inside some of the most important, battle-proven armored fighting vehicles from World War II to the present day. There are lots of books about tanks, but not many that show you what lurks inside that thick armored hide, where all the action actually occurs; and those featuring the Ml Abrams are among the first ever made inside the turret, and required special dispensation from the US Army. But the really remarkable thing about this book is that these handsome vehicles are - except for the M60A3 and Ml Abrams - to be found in the private collection of Jacques Littlefield. He and his crew have acquired, restored, and maintained one of the best collections of armor in the world, and Jacques has been kind enough to share them with students of armor through this publication.
An explanation is perhaps due at the outset: while the tanks featured in this book are certainly "great", we cannot pretend to include all the "great tanks". Notable ommissions are the classic German Panzers from World War II, of which the very few existing examples in private hands are not yet restored and accessible. While the Littlefield collection does include some interesting British types of World War II and later - the Churchill, Comet, Valentine, and Centurion - these are not yet restored to a suitable standard for photography in this book. Depending upon the reception this book achieves, we may perhaps attempt a further volume in a year or two.