WWII book fans check in here.

[caraher]

5. It's more than just a category - there are so many within it!

I'm mainly drawn to aviation and the history the Pacific theater. Though one of the more striking books I've read in recent years is away from my normal WWII interests, "Death Traps" by Belton Cooper. It's a fascinating memoir revealing how hard it was to keep a US armored division going when its main tank, the M4 Sherman, was outclassed by German armor. The details of recovering, cleaning, repairing and returning to battle damaged tanks reveal a lot about the war tank crews were forced to fight. Even where the author is wrong in his analysis of the big picture, I appreciate why he draws the conclusions he does. (In a nutshell, Cooper blames Patton for the widespread use of the Sherman and would have preferred a heavier vehicle as the chief US tank; at the same time, he acknowledges that the style of warfare Patton used to great effect calls for a medium tank with basically the characteristics of the Sherman. I think Cooper had a hard time reconciling the success of Patton's tank doctrine (under which the tank vs. tank battles were to be avoided) with the human costs he saw every day as he worked on the remains of Shermans - and their crews - unfortunate enough to meet Panzers.)