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Dealing with Tanks
Do you know the difference between an AFV and a tank? Do you even know what an AFV is? Do you need to know? If you are thinking that, then you probably need to, depending on your line of work. And depending on your line of work, if you don’t know, then you are unqualified for your job. This little work has information gleamed from a lifetime of research as well as personal experiences that may be of use to those in the military, police, and militia units who may be expected to defend our country at some point in time. Historians, writers and gamers may find this information helpful as well.
Paperback
Published March 7, 2020
16 people want to read
About the author
Joe Krakovsky
6 books281 followersWe got married right out of high school and have been together ever since. Most things we have done together and we prefer it that way. We worked together at a private club and ran a very successful martial arts program for 15 years. Now we are trying our hand at writing books. Oh, did I mention the kids and grandkids? And there is a donkey, goat and cat too!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 3, 2020
This is a short little book filled with lots of information. Being a history/military buff, I have to admit that I didn't know very much about tanks but this author certainly does. It laid to rest many of my misconceptions about armored vehicles and the differences among them. It is a great reference book for those who want to learn more about tanks, their differences, and strengths and weaknesses. It is very detailed so it may be more suited for those interested in military weapons as opposed to the casual reader. My only complaint?......it is too short!
June 16, 2020
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.
Though this book is short in pages, it is filled with great information on all aspects of tanks. The differences in AFV, how they are used, how they came to be and their history, and how to stop them. The author knows his stuff and he puts it onto the pages so it is easy to read and understand. Also in the end he says the reader may think this is useless info, but then he mentions the "tank rampagers" in the USA and just asks the simple question, what would you do if it happens? Recommended for anyone interested in armored warfare.
Though this book is short in pages, it is filled with great information on all aspects of tanks. The differences in AFV, how they are used, how they came to be and their history, and how to stop them. The author knows his stuff and he puts it onto the pages so it is easy to read and understand. Also in the end he says the reader may think this is useless info, but then he mentions the "tank rampagers" in the USA and just asks the simple question, what would you do if it happens? Recommended for anyone interested in armored warfare.
July 10, 2020
Seventy six detailed pages about, not just tanks, but all sorts of armored vehicles. Their differences, their similarities and how they are used (or should be used). Well written and organized. This should be very useful to wargamers. And to anyone who is ever called upon to stop a tank.
November 20, 2020
Before I retired, people at work knew I was an aspiring and some students would ask me to look over term papers before they submitted them. I learned a lot doing this. Sometimes there's a topic you have no interest in, and a badly written sentence makes it worse. Other times I wasn't interested but good sentences drew me in. That's the case with Joe's book. It wasn't something I'd normally be geared toward, but good writing kept me reading and I didn't feel I'd wasted my time in the end.
He did have a few grammar errors, but an indie author working on his own is bound to let something slip by. For the record:
p.15 'It time permits' s/b 'If'
p.16 'allies no longer our friends' probably s/b 'are no longer'
p.23 'battles were AFVs were used' s/b battles where
That's a remarkably small number of errors and nothing to be ashamed about.
[If I may insert a rant: It chaps me so much to see fat-headed 'writers' like Mick Foley go around saying he wrote his book all by himself. What Foley does is scribble in a spiral notebook, then hand it over for the publisher to type, edit, and put into shape. He can afford that since WWE is backing him, yet he goes around saying he did it on his own. What BS. Guys like Joe and me don't have the luxury of proof-readers and editors and rewrite men. What we and other indie authors do is us entirely, on our own. Name me one other writer who submits a spiral notebook written in longhand. Meanwhile, back to the review.]
I learned a lot from this book. Odd bits like why you see sandbags on the front of tanks. Also I never knew Hitler was a gas causality in WWI. Or how the things came to be called 'tanks' in the first place. There's also a nice account of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. One thing though: in Chapter 7 joe asks 'could you use your rifle against the tank itself?' and I'd need to remind him Sgt Rock, in DC comics, did it all the time. And the tanks always lost.
One thing however after reading this, Joe gives a lot of advice on how to deal with tanks when threatened. It's the title of the book after all. And I got to wondering if this might be a subtly subversive way of warning us against the day, somewhere in the future, when our government turns against us and tries to install a suppressive regime. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Anyhow, as Bob Hope might say, 'Tanks for the memories.' I had a fun time reading this.
He did have a few grammar errors, but an indie author working on his own is bound to let something slip by. For the record:
p.15 'It time permits' s/b 'If'
p.16 'allies no longer our friends' probably s/b 'are no longer'
p.23 'battles were AFVs were used' s/b battles where
That's a remarkably small number of errors and nothing to be ashamed about.
[If I may insert a rant: It chaps me so much to see fat-headed 'writers' like Mick Foley go around saying he wrote his book all by himself. What Foley does is scribble in a spiral notebook, then hand it over for the publisher to type, edit, and put into shape. He can afford that since WWE is backing him, yet he goes around saying he did it on his own. What BS. Guys like Joe and me don't have the luxury of proof-readers and editors and rewrite men. What we and other indie authors do is us entirely, on our own. Name me one other writer who submits a spiral notebook written in longhand. Meanwhile, back to the review.]
I learned a lot from this book. Odd bits like why you see sandbags on the front of tanks. Also I never knew Hitler was a gas causality in WWI. Or how the things came to be called 'tanks' in the first place. There's also a nice account of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. One thing though: in Chapter 7 joe asks 'could you use your rifle against the tank itself?' and I'd need to remind him Sgt Rock, in DC comics, did it all the time. And the tanks always lost.
One thing however after reading this, Joe gives a lot of advice on how to deal with tanks when threatened. It's the title of the book after all. And I got to wondering if this might be a subtly subversive way of warning us against the day, somewhere in the future, when our government turns against us and tries to install a suppressive regime. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Anyhow, as Bob Hope might say, 'Tanks for the memories.' I had a fun time reading this.
August 22, 2020
This an excellent, short and easy read which should be required reading for all journalists reporting from war zones.
An incident from the BBC reporting of the invasion of Iraq comes to mind: Rageh Omar, the BBC correspondent in Baghdad excitedly reports "there are American tanks coming down the street", and then waffles some more about something. Meanwhile I'm sitting there watching the telly thinking "Really? Without infantry support? In an urban area? It must be all over, the Iraqis must have surrendered". Eventually, the camera pans round and what do we see? Bradleys, Infantry Fighting Vehicles - NOT TANKS! I remember it quite well. I was astonished! Why did the BBC employ this idiot to report on a war? Now, maybe I'm a bit of a geek, but I'm sure there must have been people all over the UK thinking the same thing as me. I really didn't know much about armoured warfare, I've never been in the military, but this is basic stuff! It was one of those WTF moments. The author makes a similar complaint about American journalists. That is why this book should be required reading for all the over-educated idiots the mainstream media send into war zones.
The book covers all sorts of stuff I didn't know about, such as the various munitions, how to fight tanks and what their weaknesses are. I've often thought that being attacked by tanks must be one of the most terrifying things an infantryman could be confronted by, but they are not invincible.
Up until reading this book my knowledge of tanks came from stuff I've picked up from various books, books that aren't about tanks, but where tanks appeared in some part, and also a visit to the excellent Bovington Camp Tank Museum https://tankmuseum.org a few years back.
Its well written and very interesting. I finished it in one go this morning.
An incident from the BBC reporting of the invasion of Iraq comes to mind: Rageh Omar, the BBC correspondent in Baghdad excitedly reports "there are American tanks coming down the street", and then waffles some more about something. Meanwhile I'm sitting there watching the telly thinking "Really? Without infantry support? In an urban area? It must be all over, the Iraqis must have surrendered". Eventually, the camera pans round and what do we see? Bradleys, Infantry Fighting Vehicles - NOT TANKS! I remember it quite well. I was astonished! Why did the BBC employ this idiot to report on a war? Now, maybe I'm a bit of a geek, but I'm sure there must have been people all over the UK thinking the same thing as me. I really didn't know much about armoured warfare, I've never been in the military, but this is basic stuff! It was one of those WTF moments. The author makes a similar complaint about American journalists. That is why this book should be required reading for all the over-educated idiots the mainstream media send into war zones.
The book covers all sorts of stuff I didn't know about, such as the various munitions, how to fight tanks and what their weaknesses are. I've often thought that being attacked by tanks must be one of the most terrifying things an infantryman could be confronted by, but they are not invincible.
Up until reading this book my knowledge of tanks came from stuff I've picked up from various books, books that aren't about tanks, but where tanks appeared in some part, and also a visit to the excellent Bovington Camp Tank Museum https://tankmuseum.org a few years back.
Its well written and very interesting. I finished it in one go this morning.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews